


Intuition

by stardustkr7



Series: YJ: Since maybe last spring [2]
Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, sequel to SMLS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-08
Updated: 2014-02-08
Packaged: 2018-01-11 15:55:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1174952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stardustkr7/pseuds/stardustkr7
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to Since Maybe Last Spring. As the New Year begins, their romance is flourishing. But in the midst of trying to stop an alien invasion, Barbara begins to suspect Dick is not completely honest with her. Despite the growing threat of no tomorrow, have they rushed into a serious relationship too fast? Follows season 2.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Barbara! Over here!”

The redhead took a deep breath and allowed a small smile to cross her face as she turned at the sound of her name. Bette Kane had stood up from the table and waved at her from across the restaurant.

She had asked to meet at a fancy place, something much befitting a lunch date of a powerful young businesswoman; not so much a librarian. But Barbara knew things weren’t completely fixed. It had been so easy to forget that despite everything, the two had been friends at one point. She could not fault the other woman for wanting to repair their friendship.

“Hey, Bette, sorry I’m a little late. There was traffic,” she said as the other girl hugged her in greeting.

“I haven’t been waiting long, don’t worry. Have a seat!”

Slowly, Barbara sank into the ornate, poufy chair, pulling off her scarf and coat. Having come from a morning shift at the library after a busy night of patrol, she was starting to feel the sleep deprivation.

“I’m really glad you agreed to meet up with me,” Bette said anxiously as they were soon brought water glasses. The blonde looked as flawless as ever; her outfit was perfectly tailored and her hair wasn’t the frizzy mess Barbara had pulled into a pony tail that morning. “I was worried with how things were left between us over Christmas.”

“Bette, you don’t need to worry about anything,” Barbara began. She picked up her menu, hoping to signify the topic was over. The distraction worked for a few minutes.

“Feel free to order whatever you want. Even the lobster. I’ve had it. Fresh from Maine. Although, I think it tastes better in the summer,” she said thoughtfully.

Barbara glanced at the bottom of the page where the lobster was listed as market price, which meant ridiculously expensive. Dick had taken her to a place similar the other night for dinner. It was a nice date, but definitely not her normal scene. 

“My treat. Anything you want,” Bette assured, smiling.

“Um, thanks, that’s very sweet of you.”

“And feel free to order a cocktail. You’re with me, they won’t care,” she added knowingly.

“Right, I probably shouldn’t. I have work later.” While she had no problem occasionally accepting champagne at a Wayne party or gala, she did have something of an example to set, being daughter of the police commissioner.

“I thought you just came from work? Oh, you mean,  _work_ ,” Bette said with a secretive smile.

“Yeah,” said Barbara, turning back to the menu.

“Anyway, I should apologize for the whole mess these past few weeks. I mean, I felt terrible when I realized you and Dick were still as close as you were when we were in school,” Bette continued.

“No, Bette, I was pretty terrible to you. You were in the middle of this epic fight Dick and I were having. It wasn’t fair to you,” Barbara began, holding up a hand to stop the other girl from interrupting. “I … about that night, at his apartment, I’m really sorry. I was trying to get you to leave, but it wasn’t what I knew it would look like.” She glanced around, noting the tables were fairly spaced out, conversations not carrying much over the din of lunchtime and classical music. Still, she lowered her voice so Bette had to lean in slightly. “We had just gotten back; he left his suit in his room when he answered the door. That was the reasoning I used to justify my actions but that doesn’t make it okay.”

“Oh, Barbara,” she said softly, eyes watery. “When I saw you there at dinner, I started to worry I had made the wrong decision. He barely talked and I could tell you weren’t yourself either. Besides the obvious reasons, I really shouldn’t have let him take me to the Christmas party. But it was just … he was just so …”

“He’s hard to let go,” Barbara said gently.

Bette nodded and dabbed at her eyes delicately with the cloth napkin. “I don’t know if you were paying attention, the night you, you know, saved me … but he barely looked at me. Who am I to stand in the way of true love?”

“You know, his eyes weren’t visible,” she teased softly.

“Barbara, I think you and I both know when a man is looking at us and when he’s not,” Bette said, smiling coyly now.

“Yeah,” she muttered in agreement, thinking of the last week or so.

They fell silent for a few moments after the waiter took their orders. She didn’t get the lobster this time.

“I saw the picture of you and Dick in the society pages yesterday,” Bette said cheerfully, swirling her martini. “Did he take you on a nice date?”

“Yes, are you sure you want to talk about this?”

“Of course! Although, I am still a little jealous. I mean, he is …” Bette trailed off then mouthed the word ‘super.’

Barbara allowed herself a small smile. There was more than one reason why people liked superheroes. If Nightwing were more in the spotlight, say actually in the Justice League, he would probably find himself with a lot more fans. She didn’t like the term ‘cape-chaser’ but all the popular, good looking heroes tended to have some very enthusiastic female fans. Being proficient in computers, Barbara always did her best to filter out anything too embarrassing on monitors any of the team might be using.

“But you’re okay?”

“Yes. I’m way too busy to be seeing anyone right now anyway. I get lonely, but I’ll manage,” she admitted.

Barbara frowned slightly. “You prefer tall, dark and handsome, with pretty eyes, right?”

Bette sighed and took a sip of her drink.

“I should introduce you to a friend of mine,” Barbara said carefully, thinking of how morose Conner had looked the last time she saw him.

“Oh, I don’t know, Barb. I’m really bad at being set up.”

“I think you’ll like who I’m thinking of.”

They continued chatting lightly as their food arrived.

“So, Barbara …” Bette said, drawing out her name as a mischievous smile spread across her face.

Barbara paused, mouthful of salad, feeling weary. Whenever Bette would use that tone, it usually either meant her and Artemis were going to be dragged into some sort of shenanigans or she wanted a piece of embarrassing information. She picked up her iced tea to wash down the lettuce.

“About you and Dick … have you two done it yet?” It was the second option.

Barbara coughed and choked on the iced tea, just barely keeping from spitting it all over the table. “Excuse me?” she asked weakly. “Maybe I should have a drink,” she muttered darkly.

“Come on, dish it. We should compare notes,” Bette pressed, waving for the waiter to bring her another martini.

“Bette!” She could feel her cheeks going red and tried really hard not to smile.

“Barb!” she mocked. “You guys have so done it. Tell me, what’s the overall review of his performance? I mean, I thought he was good. Can’t imagine if he was actually in love with me.”

“It was … great,” she said slowly, stirring her drink with the straw. Her face felt very hot. She wasn’t sure if this was even something she could discuss with Bette, despite the fact that the other girl didn’t seem to mind. With a sigh, she added, “Really great. Phenomenal. Definitely all the enthusiasm and stamina of a young, very fit, man. And it was just … I mean, I’ve felt like we always just connected, you know, just got each other. This sounds really cliché, but it was special.”

Bette nodded and giggled. “I bet it was. Not to mention you’re a gymnast,” she said slyly.

Barbara couldn’t help but smirk at that.

“How many times did he make you –“

“Bette! Really?” This was getting kind of personal.

“Really!”

Barbara reluctantly held up several fingers, using both hands to signify the number.

“Damn,” the other girl said appreciatively. “Glad to see you’re being taken care of.”

“Can we talk about something else now?”

“I guess so. How about dessert? The tiramisu is to die for.”

 ______________________________________________________

* * *

 

“You know, eventually, they’re going to catch on to the whole maneuver seven thing,” Barbara commented lazily.

“Nah, besides, you’re dating Dick Grayson, not Nightwing. There’s even pictographic evidence,” he said, referring to the same photo that Bette spoke of earlier.

They were currently lounging in his bed, sheets and limbs tangled, coming down from the high of lovemaking. The past few days had been so busy with the team that they barely had time together outside of their date the other night. So when he had approached her earlier, it did not take a genius to realize what he wanted. She wanted the exact same thing.

_Earlier…_

“Alright, gang, you’re dismissed for the evening. I need to head up to the Watchtower. Batgirl, can I have word?” Nightwing announced. The team began dispersing, younger members taking off to their homes and some older ones pairing up for their free evening. Robin shot them a glance but must have quickly realized why he wasn’t invited to the private conversation and left for Gotham.

Batgirl sauntered up to where Nightwing stood before one of the monitors, reviewing notes, and stood at his side. She was perhaps closer in his personal space than most would choose to stand but he did not seem to mind.

“I shouldn’t be gone too long. I need you to meet me later. We need to work on maneuver seven,” he said shortly, his expression impressively neutral.

“Understood. Let me know when you’re leaving and I’ll meet up with you,” Batgirl replied, also keeping her tone and expression dispassionate.

“Good. You’re dismissed.”

She frowned slightly, wanting to inform him that just because he was team leader did not mean he was allowed to dismiss her like a damn freshman. She was Batgirl. When his gloved hand just barely brushed her own hanging at her side, electricity shot up her arm and she decided she could ignore this little transgression for now.

Later on, she was prowling Gotham when her communicator finally told her Nightwing was finishing up business on Watchtower. She beat him to Bludhaven, settling on one of the rooftops near the zeta tube to wait for him to arrive a few minutes later.

She had barely gotten a greeting out of her mouth when he pushed her up against the wall and kissed her like he hadn’t seen her in ages. They made out for several long minutes before chasing each other across the city to his place where they could barely get each other’s costumes off quick enough.

“How was your lunch earlier?”

His question and arm snaking around her to pull her close roused her from her recollection.

She adjusted herself, snuggling up to his side. It was something she was coming to appreciate about him; Dick liked to cuddle after sex.

“It was actually very nice. I think things are going to be okay between me and Bette,” Barbara said slowly.

There was a slightly awkward pause.

“That’s good. What did you talk about?”

“Oh you know, the usual girl talk. Comparing notes on how you are in bed, that sort of thing.”

She smirked when she felt him tense slightly. He cleared his throat.

“I see. Is that a good thing?” he said, his voice climbing an embarrassing octave.

“Positive reports all around. But don’t let it go to your head, Grayson.”

“Not a chance.”

As he was speaking, his hand ran along her side gently. She tensed and winced slightly when his fingers passed over a large bruise forming on her side.

“Are you okay?” he asked quickly. “What’s that from?”

“Don’t worry, it’s from the other night at the UN. I’m very fond of Cassie, but for some reason, whenever we team up together, she ends up getting thrown at me. It’s like being hit with a large sack of potatoes,” she said, rolling her eyes as he leaned over to examine the darkening skin.

“Babs, you didn’t mention …” he said, looking up at her worriedly. She recognized the look on his face, the mixture of guilt and helplessness. It used to appear during her first days of being Batgirl, before she really got ahold of the position and sometimes made mistakes. It didn’t start to retreat until she started handing him his ass during their sparring matches.

Putting her hands on either side of his head, she brought his face up to hers so she could stare him down. “Dick, listen to me. I can take a hit. If you’re going to be like this now that we’re together, we’re going to have a problem,” she told him seriously.

“I know you’re capable. Won’t stop me from not liking when you get hurt. My prerogative as your boyfriend.”

She almost rolled her eyes at the labeling. “Right. Well, you’re going to have to deal with that.”

“How about, I’m allowed to be worried about you and you’re allowed to be worried about me,” he decided, grinning.

He was ridiculous sometimes but her look softened and she pulled him in for a sweet kiss.

“How about you stop talking and put that mouth to better use,” she suggested, raising an eyebrow.

“As the lady wishes,” he replied with a smirk.

Soon, he was teasing her with hot, open mouthed kisses all over, pausing whenever a certain spot got more of a reaction. She moaned when he licked at her hip, gently avoiding the bruised area. His hands trailed even lower, pausing between her legs as she gasped.

“Ready again already?” His breath tickled her sensitive skin. And then his mouth was more occupied. She moaned and clenched at his hair with one hand as he continued teasing her nerves with his tongue and fingers.

“Fuck, Dick …” she groaned, other hand clutching at the sheets as the tension coiled up inside her. “Oh god, don’t stop.” He would build up the tension and back off, making her strain for his touch again and again. She came crying out, arching her back, then panting heavily as he pulled away, pressing a kiss to her inner thigh. “Fuck you’re good at that,” she muttered, catching her breath.

He smugly wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand and crawled back up to kiss her lips. “Watching you enjoy it is the sexiest thing ever,” he said, nipping at her earlobe.

Holding back a sigh, she allowed her hands to roam his body then smirked. “I’m not the only one ready for round two.” 


	2. Part two

Batgirl stood off to the side as the Leagers and team made their way out of the bioship after returning to the Cave. Invading the Kroletaen base had been a hollow victory. While the alien threat was essentially diminished, it was at the cost of lives, which had never been their intention.

And the rumors about Aqualad had been confirmed when he showed up leading a contingent of Black Manta’s soldiers.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nightwing approach her.

“When you first told us about Kaldur, I don’t think any of us believed it. I still can’t,” she said quietly.

“Well, believe it. He’s turned traitor,” said Nightwing darkly, not meeting her eye.

“I’m sorry, I know how close of friends you were. He was my friend too.” She put a hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

He didn’t say anything but she saw one of his fists clench.

“I just wish I understood. I mean, he was always so selfless and accepting. Of all the people, I would have never guessed it from him,” she continued. The facts were right in front of them but it still baffled her. Kaldur himself had once even confided to her that he was very much over Tula; he would always love her but he said he knew it wasn’t meant to be and he was fine.

“Yeah, well, it happened, okay?” Nightwing said gruffly, shrugging her hand off his shoulder.

She was quiet for a moment, expecting him to storm off. It was apparent that he did not care to postulate on the possible reasons Kaldur had for turning against them; she made a mental note to consult with someone else later.

“And I can’t believe you called a maneuver seven in the field,” she hissed when he didn’t leave a minute later. The smirk was barely visible to anyone else who didn’t know him as well as her.

“See you later.”

Damn him. She would.

She kept a close eye on him as they both finished up with the reports on the mission, her taking the time to shower and change before leaving the Cave. Just as Nightwing was stepping in to the zeta tube, he glanced at her. Barbara was up next. In her civilian clothes with her suit tucked away in her bag, she stealthily inputted her destination as Bludhaven and left before anyone could really notice.

He beat her home but she could definitely feel his watchful gaze as she walked from the zeta tube to his apartment building. Purposefully, she had worn the sweatshirt he lent her a week ago, the mathaletes one with his name on the back.

Barbara casually knocked on his door and only had to wait a few minutes for him to open it. Although he made it to the apartment first, it looked like Dick only had the opportunity to pull off his belt, mask, and top. So he was standing very shirtless before her after he had let her in and locked the front door. She really had no choice but to do what any other warm blooded female would do in her situation.

Dropping her bag on the floor, Barbara stepped purposefully towards him, pushing him against the door and pulling him into a hungry kiss. His hands went to her waist, pulling her body closer as he returned the kiss just as enthusiastically. She rubbed against his hips, running her hands all over his bare chest and eliciting a small groan from his throat.

“Babs,” he growled against her lips, pulling away just to help her tug off the sweatshirt and then her top. He turned them around so she was against the wall and began kissing the newly exposed skin.

Wrapping a leg around his, she moved against his strong thigh, the friction and tightness of her jeans hitting her just right to make her shudder. Those skintight pants of his weren’t hiding anything. It wasn’t enough. He reached for the button on her pants, stepping back to allow her to shimmy of out of them and her underwear while he did the same.

His breath was hot on her neck, as she reached out for him. She walked a very fine line between his overly large ego and its connection to his favorite piece of anatomy in her hand. Still, she said breathily, “Dick, I want you so bad…”

Pressing her against the wall, he lifted her hips as she wrapped her legs around his waist. They both exhaled when they connected. And then he started moving.

She gripped his shoulders, moaning softly, peppering kisses along his jaw and neck.

Distantly, he hoped his neighbors either weren’t home or very sound sleepers with the amount of noise they were producing at this wall. Then he decided it was more important to focus on prolonging the moment.

They finished one after the other, calling out. He set her down slowly, her legs shaking as she leaned against the wall to catch her breath; he was leaning over her, forearm rested just over her head. She opened her eyes to find him staring right back at her and she shivered a little at the intensity.

“Are you hungry? I’m hungry. Let me make you something to eat. After I finish putting my suit away,” he said, finally breaking the silence. He picked up the black pants that had been thrown aside and turned, heading for his room. She bit her lip, enjoying the view as he walked away. Damn fine.

With a satisfied sigh, she retrieved her own panties and pulled them on, then pulling the sweatshirt over her head again. When he rejoined her, he had also put on a pair of shorts but nothing else. He paused to kiss her forehead then continued to the kitchen. To make her breakfast. At three in the morning. She giggled a little and he winked at her.

As he stood before the stove, she moved up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist, gently caressing his abs and pressing a kiss to his shoulder blade.

“I love you.” The words tumbled out so easily but never lost their depth. Just being with him always made her so unbelievably happy.

“Thank you,” he said cheerfully.

She giggled again. “Brat,” she said, playfully swatting at his bicep as she pulled away.

They ended up lounging on the couch, feeding each other bits of cheese omelet and relaxing. It was terribly domestic and cheesy, she decided as she lay back with her legs across his lap; his hands were gently working at the muscles in her thighs and the feeling was somewhere between sensuous and just simple relief from sore limbs.

“They’re going to have to leave, aren’t they,” she finally broke the silence with a sigh. “Batman and the others. I overheard them talking earlier.”

His hands paused then one reached for hers, threading their fingers together. “Yeah, probably as soon as Green Lantern gets back. But hopefully it won’t be for long.”

It was kind of a hollow hope and they both knew it.

 _________________________________________________________

* * *

 

The accused members of the Justice League were given two weeks before they would accompany Green Lantern to Rimbor for their trial. It was unclear how long the trial would take so all were advised to set as many affairs in order as possible.

Having always been a fan of making contingency plans, Batman took this advice to heart and forced patrols almost every night for the next two weeks to get the city as clean as possible before he left the planet. The Bats descended on Gotham, fiercely stopping criminals in the act and persuading other potential wrong-doers to think twice. He wasn’t normally so vicious except during the week of the anniversary of the Waynes’ deaths. Even then, he had some modicum of control.

The first week out, Batman broke the Joker’s legs. Both of them, completely shattered. When Nightwing questioned him, Batman said that the double casts on both his legs would hopefully keep him in Arkham for more than a month or so.

“I’m counting on the two of you still to make appearances in the suit,” he reminded them. They knew it wasn’t because he doubted them, but the fear of Batman did a lot to keep the worst villains at bay.

Batman even allowed other metas into his city to help, as had other League members preparing to leave. It was a group effort, making sure everyone’s home town was taken care of as best as they could. Then it would be left to the side kicks and other members.

During the day, Bruce was slowly but surely piling more responsibility on Dick to run the company while he was gone. It was also tricky to figure out a suitable cover story for why Bruce Wayne was dropping off the face of the Earth for an indefinite amount of time. So far he was sticking to a planned vacation around the world, including a safari trek, cruising in his yacht, and mountain climbing.

“If I’m gone too long, suspicion might be cast on Dick over my whereabouts since it is well know he’s my heir. Lucius Fox knows I have to be gone for my other job so he will be able to help avoid that, but it is a possibility you will need to be prepared for,” he explained, showing them the files of ‘vacation photos’ that were prepared for a possible press release.

 __________________________________________________________

* * *

 

“Thanks for coming by to help.”

“No problem. Needed to get out of the Cave anyway,” said Superboy. He had joined Nightwing and Batgirl on patrol in Gotham during the second week of extra patrols. They were currently taking a moment to congratulate themselves on the rooftop.

“I thought you were going to be in Smallville?” Batgirl asked.

“We were there last week but Ma rightly pointed out we should be taking care of Metropolis right now,” Conner replied then sighed. “I’m starting to get nervous about next week,” he said honestly.

“You’re getting nervous? At least you don’t have to do his day job too!” Nightwing snapped, his arms folded.

“Technically, Superman goes out in the day too,” Conner pointed out, a slight glare now directed at the other surly hero.

“Okay, that’s enough. Nightwing, there’s a very obvious carjacking going on down the street. Go cool off,” Batgirl ordered, pointing in the direction she had noticed activity. While Conner had gotten better with his anger issues, she did not want to be caught between some stupid stress-fueled testosterone slinging.

Nightwing glared at her too but did a backflip off the roof they were standing on and down to stop the car thief.

“Sorry about him. It hasn’t been easy for any of us with mentors who are leaving,” said Batgirl, sitting delicately on the edge of the building.

“S’okay,” Conner muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I know I’ve been on edge a lot too.”

“How about you meet up with us earlier tomorrow evening. In civies. I’d like to introduce you to one of my friends,” said Barbara suddenly, recalling a distance lunch date promise.

Conner looked at her blankly.

“Her name is Bette. She’s very sweet. I think you would like her,” Barbara pressed on a bit recklessly.

There was a pause and then he said, “Are you trying to set me up with the girl who was seeing Dick last month? The one that you were upset about?”

“Yeah. Um, we worked things out,” said Barbara a little awkwardly.

“Listen, Barbara, it’s nice of you to think of me,” he began, shaking his head.

“No, you listen, Conner. I think it would do you good to meet people who don’t know who M’gann is and your history with her. I think you just need to meet people. Female people. M’gann’s already on her rebound. It’s okay for you to see people too,” Barbara said decisively.

“It’s not like we broke up because we stopped liking each other,” he muttered.

“I know. Maybe not the full details, but it’s not hard to miss. But whatever it is you broke up over, you weren’t able to work through it to save the relationship,” she pointed out. “You don’t have to jump into a relationship right away like she did,” she added gently. “Just come out and meet my friend. If you don’t like her, I won’t hold it against you.”

“I don’t know. How are you going to explain how you know me?”

“Through an unfortunate series of events, she already knows about me and Nightwing. So, if you want to tell her, it’s up to you. Personally, I think she kind of has a thing for superheroes now,” she added, smirking slightly.

This made Conner roll his eyes. “I don’t know if you realize this but I’ve only been with one girl my whole life so I’m not great at the whole dating part.”

“She’s pretty busy anyway. I don’t think she’s looking for anything serious. Does that mean you’ll come?”

Conner stared at her, clearly trying to think of another reason. Finally Nightwing reappeared, looking a little more relaxed.

“Ran into some dealers on the way back,” he explained. “What’d I miss?”

“Dick, tomorrow evening at eight we’re meeting up at the Cove. You know that place up by Gotham U?” said Barbara, standing up.

“Okay, may I ask why?”

“We’re going to set up Bette and Conner.”

She had become quite the master of reading his facial expressions through his mask; right now he was exhibiting befuddlement.

“What? Bette Kane? Really? You think that’s a good idea?”

“It’s not my idea. I told her it’s not necessary,” Conner said quickly, taking half a step back.

“Yes,” said Barbara simply. “Does that bother you?”

“Nah, I guess not. Just surprising. Don’t worry man, Bette is really hot,” Dick said, turning to Conner and grinning. Barbara just shook her head and rolled her eyes in amusement.

 ______________________________________________________

* * *

 

The Cove was a fairly popular hangout place for college students. Located in a large, old warehouse near the university, it had succeeded where the on campus lounges had failed; it served food and coffee and free wireless during the day but started serving alcohol on the upper deck at eight pm. And since it was Gotham, they were known for being lax about carding people. Especially on weekends when they would host a band on the outer deck upstairs.

“Are you sure this is a good idea, Barb?” asked Bette, shifting in her chair. They sat at the bar upstairs, waiting for the boys to arrive, Bette sipping a vodka martini and Barbara drinking a cappuccino.

“Definitely,” Barbara lied smoothly.

“I haven’t been set up with anyone in a while,” she said nervously. “How do I look?”

“Perfect, like always,” said Barbara, rolling her eyes.

“It was nice of you to set this up though. I’ve been getting lonely,” she admitted, taking the last sip of her drink. She pushed the empty glass away with a sigh.

“Well, Conner is a great guy. You’ll like him,” she assured her friend. “There he is now,” she added, sliding off her barstool to wave at the young man at the top of the stairs, looking just as uncomfortable as she felt. He caught sight of the redhead waving at him and slowly trudged over, hands in the pockets of his black leather jacket.

“Hey,” he greeted as he reached them.

For all of her apparent nervousness, Bette had always been very outgoing. “Hi, I’m Bette. You must be Conner,” she said flirtatiously, offering her perfectly manicured hand.

“Nice to meet you,” he said with a small smile, taking her hand gently. He took the seat next to her.

Barb glanced at Conner and gave him an expectant look and nod.

“Oh, right, erm, can I get you a drink, Bette?” he said, catching on.

Bette nodded and smiled.

 “Right, so, Conner, Bette is working on her business degree and running her family’s company at the same time. Conner goes to college in Ivy Town, up by Happy Harbor,” said Barbara, attempting to do her part to make the blind date go smoother.

There was a slightly awkward pause as they waited for either the bartender to notice them or the fourth member of the party to arrive.

“Okay, well, I’m sure Dick will be here soon so I’m going to go wait over there,” said Barbara, motioning across the room where there were some couches. She waved at the bartender and added, “Can I get two more coffees, over there? Thanks. You two have fun.”

As she was walking away from the bar, she heard Bette say, “So, what are you studying, Conner?”

Barbara sat by herself reading for another fifteen minutes until Dick finally arrived. He was still wearing his work clothes but had lost the tie before coming in and loosened his collar. With the matching suit jacket and blue shirt, he still looked incredibly suave despite obviously exhausted.

“Hey,” he said tiredly plopping onto the loveseat next to her.

“Hey, I got you a coffee but it’s probably cold by now,” she said, putting down her book and uselessly gesturing to the full mug on the table before them.

“Thanks, Babs,” he said, putting an arm around her shoulders and kissing her cheek.

She smiled slightly and turned, pulling him in for a proper kiss.

“How’s work going?”

He pulled a face. “Not that I want him to leave at all, but part of me wants Bruce to just leave already because he’s being unbearable.”

“He’s just worried. He doesn’t want to leave you not knowing what to do,” she assured, wrapping her arms around his middle.

“How’s your social experiment going?” he asked, glancing over at Bette and Conner. The blonde was leaning forward slightly, placing a hand on his arm, listening interestedly as he spoke.

“It’s hard to tell. Conner is so good at hiding his emotions and Bette is naturally a huge flirt. But I’d tentatively say it’s going well,” she said, also observing the two. They fell quiet for a few minutes.

“Hmm, you’re right, this is cold,” Dick said, taking a long gulp of his coffee. “Hey, is that an old Pacman game? Come on, got any change? I challenge you to a game,” he said suddenly, standing up and pulled her by the hand to another corner where there were a few old arcade games.

“Are you really asking me for money?”

A little while later, Conner found them just as it was Barbara’s turn. It began as a silly game but quickly escalated into a serious competition of who could distract the other the most when it was their turn. Dick had his hand on the small of her back, playing at the hem of her shirt and caressing her skin, as he leaned over her shoulder breathing in her ear.

“That tickles,” she said, biting her lip in an effort to not giggle as she maneuvered the joystick.

A throat cleared awkwardly and the two looked away from the game to see the clone standing nearby.

“Hey, Conner, how’s it going?” Barbara asked kindly, glancing around to just catch sight of Bette turning down the hallway to the powder room.

“She, uh, invited me back to her place.” He looked slightly uncomfortable. No wonder he had sought them out.

“Way to go,” said Dick, grinning.

Barbara rolled her eyes. “Listen, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, Conner. But do you like her?”

Conner shrugged. “Yeah, I just didn’t expect this so soon.”

“Did you tell her who you are?” she asked.

“Yeah, I suspect that’s what brought on the invitation so quickly.”

“Oh, man, wish I could have used the superhero line,” Dick said wistfully. “I mean in the past. Not that I would need to use a line now. Or ever. Right, babe?” he added, catching Barbara’s raised eyebrow.

“What do I do?” Conner asked.

“Go home with her,” Dick said, as though it were the most obvious answer in the world.

Barbara nodded. “If you start to feel uncomfortable, just tell her you promised to help patrol later with us while you were here.”

“And keep in mind she’s a human woman so be careful,” Dick added.

As the full implication of Dick’s words hit him, Conner’s eyes widened and the tips of his ears reddened.

“Here she comes. Just relax and have fun. Try not to bail on her too early,” said Barbara quickly, watching over his shoulder as the blonde approached.

“Hey guys,” said Bette cheerfully.

“I was just letting Dick and Barbara know we were thinking of leaving,” said Conner.

Bette beamed and looped an arm around his. “Great. See you two later. Enjoy the rest of your evening.”

“Same to you,” said Barbara, catching the other girl’s eye and winking. They watched as the couple disappeared down the stairs. “Damn, I’m good. Who should I set up next?”

They looked at each other and at exactly the same time said, “Tim.”


	3. Part Three,

It was the night before the six Justice League members were going to leave the planet. After a subdued dinner, Bruce had gathered them in the Batcave, putting together the final touches on all of his back up plans.

“If we are found guilty, it will be up to you three to continue the mission. I will try to contact you either way when a verdict is reached,” he said quietly.

He turned to his eldest. “Dick, I know how much you enjoy being Nightwing. If I don’t return, I don’t want you to feel pressured to wear the cowl. You’re my first choice to take the mantle but you don’t have to.

“But I do hope you’ll take care of Tim. Both of you.”

They nodded.

Finally, he looked at her.

“Barbara,” he began gently, “I’m sorry I doubted you at first. The Bat symbol was never completely mine to control. Batgirl is your legacy.

“Alfred knows where my will is located. All of you are included in it. If anyone says differently, they do not have the most updated version,” he concluded.

No one said anything for a long time.

Eventually Tim muttered something about finishing homework and slowly turned to head back upstairs. Bruce offered to help. Dick mentioned something about having work to do at the Cave, but turned down her help when Barbara offered to accompany him.

 Finally, Barbara was left alone in the Batcave with her emotions. Deciding the best way to deal with everything was a good workout, she quickly changed and made her way to the gym area.

She finished a few routines on the balance beam and the uneven bars then started taping her hands. Standing in front of the punching bag, she adjusted the tape then curled her hands into fists.

With a deep inhale she got into a fighting stance and jabbed. Once. Twice. Jab. Punch. Jab. Jab. Uppercut. Turn and kick. The bag almost bent in half with the force of her foot; it was a move Black Canary had taught her ages ago. She repeated the motions, hitting faster and harder. Her vision blurred with a mixture of sweat and tears.

Dammit. Bruce had been every bit a mentor and almost father figure to her just as he was to Dick and Tim. Even more recently, he felt like an older brother at times. Talking about him leaving like it could be forever was not okay. And he never needed to apologize for doubting her at first. She wouldn’t have tried so hard if he had accepted her right away. Dammit, Bruce. He had been so sympathetic when her heart had been broken by his son just over a month ago.

“Kyaahh!”

The chains holding up the bag rattled ominously as the bag itself pitched back and forth wildly from the force of her kick.

A sob escaped her and she clasped a hand to her mouth to stifle any more. She had been doing such a good job at being strong all week; why couldn’t she last twenty four more hours without breaking down?

A hand on her shoulder made her jump and turn around. So much for grieving in private. She wondered how long Bruce had been there, watching her attempt to take out her frustration on the punching bag. The man could probably sneak up on God himself.

“Barbara,” he said gently and she couldn’t help but let out another sob. Here she was trying to be brave and strong in front of the goddamn Batman himself and he was being so nice to her, even though he should be the one upset since he was the one possibly facing doom at the hands of an alien judge and jury.

He pulled her into a hug and she had no real choice but to return the embrace and give in to her tears.

“It’s okay, Barbara. It’s going to be okay,” he was saying, stroking her hair as she cried into his ridiculously expensive cashmere sweater. “You were always meant to be Batgirl. I couldn’t possibly be prouder.”

Finally managing to get ahold of herself, she pulled away, wiping at her eyes and still sniffling.

“Barbara, promise me you’ll look after Dick? Please? And … if he does something stupid, try to go easy on him,” said Bruce, one hand still on her shoulder.

She frowned slightly, thinking it was a somewhat odd request, but nodded.

 _______________________________________________

* * *

 

“Hey Bette,” said Barbara, locating the tall blonde and sliding into the chair across from her.

“Hi, Barb, I’m glad you could meet up with me again,” she said, smiling. “We definitely need to do this more often.”

This time it was a coffee date at a very trendy little café in uptown Gotham.

“Of course,” she replied, ordering herself a coffee.

“How have you been, Bette?” she asked kindly, noting the slumped shoulders and slightly glassy expression. Even when she was exhausted though, her hair was perfect and frizz free.

“I’m hanging in there. It was really great to meet your friend Conner last week. Thanks for setting all of that up.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Did he say anything to you about me?” she asked curiously.

“Sorry, he’s not really the kiss and tell type,” she said, laughing. “He didn’t tell us anything.”

“Hmm. Those arms,” said Bette dreamily.

“Are you going to see him again?” Barbara asked, taking a sip of her coffee that had just arrived.

“I hope so. We texted a few times since then.”

“Bette, are you okay? You look especially worn out. I mean, you still look perfect, but I can tell you are tired,” said Barbara, frowning slightly.

“Why do you always say that, Barbara? You know you’re pretty too.”

Barbara didn’t have a good answer for that except to take another drink of her coffee and say, “That’s sweet, Bette.”

The other girl sighed. “I haven’t been doing great. I get nightmares a lot about the kidnapping. It wasn’t so bad at first because I kept busy but the hearing is this week and it’s just been stressful.”

“I’m sorry. I wish there was something I could do.”

“Thanks. How do you deal? I mean, you see this stuff on a daily basis.”

“I don’t know, I guess you just get used to it. My dad was a cop so I grew up knowing bad things happen in the world.”

Bette bit her lip nervously. “I keep wishing I had fought back more… I was actually kind of wondering, if you wouldn’t mind maybe showing me some self-defense moves?”

Her eyes widened slightly in polite shock. “Bette, there are classes for that sort thing, you know.”

“I know. I’ve even taken them. And I did everything they told me to and I still felt helpless,” she said sadly.

Her heart broke a little as she recognized the feeling of helpless defeat. Barbara was no stranger to wishing she could take better care of herself. She was just fortunate to have more experience and training so that she could take care of others as well. As heroes, they spent so much time saving people from the acute threat, they never actually bothered to check back and make sure the person was recovering from a happenstance that was normally the only tragic thing that ever happened in their life.

“If you think it will help give you closure … Sure, we’ll start tonight. Come by Wayne Manor. There’s a huge gym room,” said Barbara decisively.

And that was how, hours later, Barbara found herself standing in the upstairs gym, teaching Bette how to throw a punch properly. Even though technically, Bette was in on the secret, she didn’t think the rest of the Bat family would appreciate if they used the Batcave to train, even though there was better equipment downstairs.

“There you go, keep your thumb like this. I know it feels more instinctual to have it on the side, but that’s a good way to get it broken. And don’t hyper extend your elbows. There, now, strike with your knuckles,” she instructed patiently, holding the punching bag as the blonde took a tentative swing.

“Good,” she said after Bette had punched a few times. “Now let’s try a few palm strikes. I like these better because when you hit with the heel of your hand, you have two strong bones behind the force.”

“What if they grab my hands?”

Barbara showed her how to clasp her hands together and pull up to break a grip on her wrists. She taught her a few more arm and wrist locks and how to break them. Then she moved on to a shoulder throw.

“This is a great throw and really easy, even if they are bigger and stronger. If they don’t know how to fall down properly, it can really be painful,” said Barbara, grinning. “You have to pull on my arm and use your hips to lift my body, then it’s just a twist and I’ll be pulled right over.”

It took a few tries and some awkward maneuvering but a loud thud echoed across the room as Bette threw and Barbara landed perfectly on her side.

“Excellent,” said a masculine voice across the room. Getting to her feet, Barbara glanced at the doorway where Dick and Tim stood watching. She rolled her eyes and turned back to the other girl.

“That’s a really good move to use when someone sneaks up on you and tries to grab you from behind,” Dick continued, his voice getting closer. His footsteps were completely silent but Barbara was still expecting it when his arm circled around her neck and shoulders. In one fluid motion, her knees and waist bent as she gripped his arm and pulled him over her shoulder.

Bette applauded and Barbara took a bow.

“I think it’s obvious I let you have that one, BG,” Dick grumbled, getting to his feet.

“Oh, okay, Boy Wonder, wanna try that again where you don’t let me have that one?” Barbara challenged, folding her arms.

“You’re on,” he said, smirking as he kicked off his shoes and pulled off his button down shirt, tossing it aside. In his jeans and black undershirt, he stepped on the mat and got in a fighting stance.

As they sparred, Bette stood off to the side with Tim.

“Wow, I almost feel like I shouldn’t be watching,” she said, transfixed on their graceful movements.

Tim gave her a sideways glance. “This is nothing. Before, they used to pick little fights all the time so they could spar,” he said, rolling his eyes.

“More like so they can have an excuse to get their hands on each other. Who normally wins?”

“It’s actually pretty evenly matched, most of the time.”

“Arghh!” Barbara let out a frustrated cry as Dick managed to pin her face down on the mat.

“Gotcha, Babe,” he said. She could hear the smirk in his voice.

She let out a few muttered curses but conceded defeat. In victory, he pushed aside her braided hair and licked the back of her neck.

“Eek! Dick!” she squealed. “Get off of me!”

Laughing, he obliged, and they both got to their feet, her blushing furiously.

“Anyway, we came in here to tell you that we convinced Alfred to make pizza for dinner,” Dick said as they walked to the edge of the mat.

“He refused to order out,” Tim chipped in.

“Alfred makes really good pizza, Tim,” Barbara reassured the younger boy. “Bette, you’re welcome to stay for dinner.”

The two girls’ eyes met and Barbara had a strange sense that Bette was thinking along similar lines as her. How times had changed. A month ago, she had been invited over to dinner and it was a disaster.

 __________________________________________________

* * *

 

“Babs, are you here?” Dick called out into the apartment after stepping in and spotting a pair of shoes on the floor that definitely did not belong to him. This had been happening a lot lately, things not belonging to him appearing in his apartment. There had been a terrifying incident the week before when he opened the cupboard in the bathroom and discovered a mysterious pink box; when he realized what it was, he dropped the box like it was on fire and slammed the cupboard shut. Other than that though, having her things around didn’t scare him as much as he thought it would.

“In here, Dick!” came her voice from the bedroom.

He found her lying on his bed, working on his computer, even wearing his sweatshirt. Leaning against the doorway, he watched her with a small, satisfied smirk.

“How did it go with Roy?” she asked distractedly, glancing at the open book next her then focusing on the laptop screen again.

“Not great. But I don’t know what more we can do to help him,” he said tiredly, undressing and lounging next to her. “What are you doing?”

“Homework. I’ve been staring at this for an hour and can’t find the bugs in my code. It should be perfect,” she said, frustrated. “And I still have math homework,” she complained, rubbing at her eyes.

“Let me check it. Maybe fresh eyes will help,” he offered, gently prying the laptop from her hands. “Wow, this is really long,” he added, frowning as he scrolled through pages of code.

“Thanks,” she grumbled.

They fell silent for a few moments before she started fidgeting, trying to get up the courage to ask him about the files. She may have been trained by the world’s greatest detective but Barbara wasn’t a snoop when it came to relationship things. She wasn’t the type of girl to go through his email or his texts, looking for signs of infidelity. Maybe it was her intuition, but she couldn’t get rid of the uneasy feeling about those files.

But it was stupid. Lots of people had protected files on their personal computers. There was no reason to get so worked up about it without just asking about them. For all she knew, it could be his bank information, or bad poetry, or something equally benign. All she had to do was ask.

“Dick?”

“Yeah?”

“I stumbled across some really heavily encrypted files on your laptop,” she began carefully, watching him. She thought she saw a miniscule tensing of his jaw.

“Yeah?”

“I was just wondering what they were.”

“Hmm,” he said, still focused on the screen before him.

“It’s pretty heavily guarded to just be your porn collection,” she joked.

He smirked. “That’s a good one. I was just going to say that’s where I hide the emails from my other girlfriend.”

Barbara rolled her eyes. Between the team, school, and work, he barely had time for one girlfriend. “Okay, really, Hunk Wonder. What are you hiding now?”

“It’s nothing big, Babs. Just some case files. The encryption is in case someone steals my computer. And if someone tries to hack it without the right encryption keys, it’s designed to wipe the whole hard drive,” he said, still not actually looking at her as he spoke.

“What are the keys?”

He smirked again. “Found where your code kept messing up. You misspelled ‘iteration.’ I’ll keep going through the rest of it though, just in case.”

“Fine, why would you tell me how not to hack it if you don’t want me to hack it?”

“I don’t want you to wipe my whole hard drive on accident,” he said, raising an eyebrow.

“I could restore it in a snap though. What’s in those files?”

“The rest of this looks good. I’ll go ahead and submit it for you,” he said.

“Dick …”

He sighed heavily. “Okay, okay, you’ve got me. That’s where I keep naked pictures of all the girls I’ve slept with. There’s a ton of Bette. That’s why I don’t want you to go through it,” he said, closing the laptop and setting it aside.

“That’s not even funny,” she protested, despite the slight smile of amusement she was trying to hold back. “Are there any of me?” she asked, playfully punching his shoulder.

“Well there would be if you offered to pose for them. Apparently it’s creepy to just take them while you’re sleeping,” he said with a wink. He leaned over to give her a kiss. “I’d stay up longer with you but I do have to get up early. But tomorrow is Valentine’s Day so I’d like to take you out to dinner. Should I pick you up around seven?” he asked, lying back and about to reach over and turn off the light.

“Yeah, I’ll be working at the library so pick me up from there,” she said, lying down as well.

He turned off the light and kissed her again. In a few minutes, she could tell he was already lightly dozing. Barbara couldn’t get to sleep right away though; she kept focusing on the fact that Dick was obviously keeping something from her. While she probably could easily hack into those files, she didn’t want to. Maybe she was overreacting. Ominously, she remembered Bruce asking her to go easy on Dick if he did something stupid. It was possible she would end up making good on that promise sooner than she thought.

 __________________________________________________

* * *

 

By the next day, she had convinced herself to put her worries aside. It helped that her day was busy to keep her mind occupied. After her long morning classes, she went home for lunch so she could change before going to work at the library. Her father was home and gruffly informed her that there were flowers addressed to her on the kitchen table.

“Surprised he bothered sending them here,” Jim remarked as Barbara took the time to examine and smell the vase full of two dozen red roses. He had been making quite a few comments like that recently, almost snide remarks about the very obvious fact that rarely did she spend the night in her own bed anymore. Perhaps maybe three to four times a week at most.

She knew he was concerned for her but it still made her want to remind him that she was twenty years old and could spend the night with a man if she wanted to.

“Is he at least taking you out to dinner?”

“Yes, Dad. Please stop being so hard on him,” she said with a sigh. “With Bruce being gone, he’s been really stressed these past two weeks.”

“Honey, it’s a father’s prerogative to make sure the young man my daughter loves is treating her well.”

“He is. I’m sorry I haven’t been home much. There’s just been so much going on lately. I have to get ready to go now.” She turned for her room, in search of a red dress that didn’t look too scandalous to wear to the library. At least her job mostly consisted of sitting at a desk.

Dinner was quite an ordeal since Dick ended up taking her to a very expensive, fancy restaurant where they had to pose for photographers waiting to get a snapshot of Gotham’s elite dining for Valentine’s Day. It was a little awkward when a few asked who she was wearing. The dress she had settled on was easily two years old, probably bought off a sale rack, and it was a miracle that it still fit.

“Sorry about all that,” he muttered in her ear, his arm around her shoulders as they finally made their way inside.

“It’s alright. Just one of the trials of dating someone famous,” she teased him.

“I love you. Have I said that recently? I feel like I haven’t. I love you and you look fantastic.”

She stopped him the middle of the lobby.

“What are you doing?”

Her eyes just barely flickered to the glass doors where there were still a few photographers outside. “Just giving them something to talk about,” she said, pulling him in for a kiss. He leaned his forehead against hers, eyes closed as she continued whispering against his lips. “It’s okay, I know. The more we make appearances, the more they talk about us and the less focus on …”

 _The less focus on Bruce’s disappearance_. He didn’t finish the sentence but understood what she was implying.

“Hm, you know we could skip all this and go home right now,” he suggested.

“Not a chance. I’ve been working all day, I’m starving,” she said, taking his hand and pulling him towards the entrance to the restaurant.

His name and money, or rather, Bruce Wayne’s name and money, had gotten them a very nice private table. They also seemed to have conveniently forgotten their ages since a bottle of champagne was chilling in a bucket.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been making as much time for you or helping with the city,” he said, holding her hand as they finished dessert.

“Dick, I’m probably the only girl around who completely understands. And you forget, I’ve been just as busy,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“You’ve been doing great here on your own,” he said softly.

“I can’t take all the credit. I’ve actually been in touch with Selina. She’s agreed to temporarily suspend her thieving and help, especially in her side of town.”

His eyes widened slightly. “You got Catwoman to stop stealing and start fighting crime? Even B couldn’t do that,” he said in a hushed but awed tone.

“If the city goes to hell, she won’t be able to steal diamonds and flirt with Batman. It’s purely out of self-interest,” said Barbara, smirking. “As soon as B is back, I’m sure it will be business as usual.”

“Speaking of diamonds, I got you a little something.” Dick reached into his jacket and pulled out a small jewelry box and handed it to her. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“You’re going to have to stop buying me so much expensive stuff. I’m on a part time librarian’s salary here, you know,” she told him, blushing slightly as she took the box. Lovely diamond earrings gleamed up at her when she opened the box. “They’re beautiful. Thank you, Dick,” she said, kissing his cheek.

“I thought they would match your necklace,” he said, eyes flickering down to the pendant he had given her back at Christmas that she wore.

“Good choice. Well, I’m afraid we’ll have to go home if you want your present,” she said coyly.

Dick made it his life’s mission in that moment to flag down the waiter and ask for the check. He drove them home in almost record time and had pulled her into his arms as soon as he’d shut the door. She indulged him for a few moments, kissing back just as passionately, but eventually pulled away before she could forget her mission.

“Come on,” she murmured, taking his hand and leading him to his bed room. She shut the door and said casually, “Take off your pants.”

“I like where this is going so far.”

Some short amount of time later, low groaning could be heard coming from the room.

“Oh, god, Babs, that’s just … ugh, yes, wow … fuck, that’s … Babsss …”

There was a shout of her name and then pleased moaning and quiet.

Smugly, she sat back on her heels, licking her lips and watching him. He was lying back on the pillows, in a bit of a daze, with his eyes closed and a bewildered grin on his face.

“Enjoy that?”

“Yeah, you’re amazing, Babs,” he said sincerely, peering up at her.

Barbara chuckled then got up from the bed. “That was the first part of your present,” she said, going to the corner where she had left her bag earlier.

“There’s more?”

“Yes,” she said shortly, pulling out her Batgirl costume and beginning to unzip her dress.

He watched her pull on her suit for a few minutes, looking somewhat confused. “Is the second part a strip tease out of your costume? I don’t want to tell you how to do things, but shouldn’t that have come before that incredible blow job you just gave me?”

Barbara sighed, buckling her belt. “No, sorry, not a strip tease. The second part of your present is that you are going to stay right there and get a full night of sleep while I take care of work tonight. Eight hours. Actually, given the bags under your eyes, I’d say shoot for nine.”

“What? No, Babs, don’t be ridiculous. How am I supposed to sleep knowing you’re out there anyway?” he said, frowning and sitting up.

“I’ll come back here after patrol,” she promised. “You have been stretching yourself thin the past few weeks. It’s not good for you and if you’re tired, you’re a less effective crime fighter. Go to sleep.”

“Babs …”

“Dick, I love you and I’m trying to take care of you, okay. Let me do my job. Don’t worry, Batgirl is taking good care of both our cities tonight,” she said, putting her hands on his shoulders and forcing him to lie back down. “Now, don’t make me blow you again.”

He smirked. “I’m honestly not sure how to respond to that.”

“Go to sleep, Hunk Wonder.”

“Where are you going first?”

“I’ll do a run through Bludhaven first, then I plan on checking in with Robin in Gotham, then I’ll come back here. I’ll be here when you wake up tomorrow,” she promised, opening his window and slipping out into the night.

Hours later, Barbara quietly climbed through the window again, hoping not to wake him. What a night.

The figure passed out on the bed stirred slightly. “Babs? Zat you?” Dick said sleepily.

“It’s me, go back to sleep, Babe,” she confirmed, quickly pulling off her costume and climbing in next to him.

Strong arms pulled her close and she wiggled slightly to get comfortable in his grip. “Love you,” he whispered into her hair then began snoring softly again before she could respond. 


	4. Part Four

The weekend after the Bialya mission, Barbara was finally convinced to visit Artemis.

“Dick uses the zeta tubes to visit Wally all the time. I’m sure if anyone were to confront him about it, he’d say he was just trying to get us back on the Team. But really, they just goof off,” Artemis assured her on the phone.

While cheaper than a plane ticket, frivolous use of the League zeta tubes was frowned upon. Everyone did it anyway though.

It was fairly sunny and mild in Palo Alto so the two friends walked to a popular coffee shop near the college and claimed a table outside.

“So, I’m glad you and Dick are finally sleeping together regularly,” Artemis began, sipping her iced mocha.

Barbara coughed. “Everyone seems to be focusing on that aspect.”

“Can you blame us? You two are like masters of unresolved sexual tension. Anyway, I haven’t actually heard the whole story so, spill,” said Artemis with a shrug.

“Well, I’m sure you heard about Metropolis. Anyway, that night was when I found out he had slept with Bette Kane.”

The blonde archer spit her drink all over the table. “What? Bette? What the fuck was he thinking?”

Barbara sighed, giving her friend an affectionate look as she passed over some napkins. Of all the people she could have explained the situation to; Artemis was actually there back in high school and knew her feelings towards Bette Kane. The three girls had been friends, but it was obvious who the popular one in their little group was. At least Artemis tended to call out Bette on her crap the most. When Babs said she had a problem with Bette, Artemis just got it. Despite their problems though, they did their best to keep the friendship going and not gossip about the other.

“He just didn’t get it.” With a sigh, she gave an abbreviated version of the events of December and January.

“So now you and Bette are all chummy even though she was the cause of all of this crap?” Artemis asked, an eyebrow raised.

“It wasn’t really her fault. She was kind of caught in the middle of a fight between us,” said Barbara fairly.

“A fight that she caused by sleeping with Dick,” she pointed out.

“Exactly, she slept with Dick. He was partly at fault too. And I probably overreacted. But we’re past it. And give Bette a little credit. She gave up the opportunity to date Dick Grayson when she realized what she was in the middle of.”

“She was always fascinated by that little troll,” said Artemis, rolling her eyes. “She went nuts when you told us he was your date to senior prom, remember?”

“I also remember leaving the dance early to go save the world again,” said Barbara with a grin.

“The good old days.”

“Do you think you guys will ever come back?”

Artemis paused, sipping up the last of her drink and observing the people walking by on the sidewalk.

“Honestly, probably. I don’t mean that we’re talking about it now. We’re both happy working on our normal life together,” she said slowly. “But hero work is in our blood. And even if he refuses to run, Wally is a speedster and that gift will stay with him whether he uses it or not. I wouldn’t be surprised to see us back in the field in the future.”

“I hope so. I just have a feeling we’re going to need you guys sooner rather than later,” said Barbara.

“How are you guys holding up? Maybe I could come to Gotham for a weekend, we could kick some ass, like the good old days.”

The redhead smiled sadly. “That would be nice.”

“What’s wrong, Barbie?”

“I think Dick is hiding something from me,” she said slowly.

“Like … you think he might be cheating on you?”

“No, don’t be ridiculous, he wouldn’t do that,” said Barb, rolling her eyes. “No, it’s just that he’s been working on some secret things lately and I know he’s leader and has a prerogative to keep secrets but my gut just tells me this is bigger than usual. And I think B tried to give me a hint before he left.”

“What’d he say?”

“He told me not to get too mad if Dick does something stupid.”

Artemis gave her a bewildered look. “That’s not a very good hint. Sounds more like good advice.”

“I don’t have a lot of evidence, just a lot of suspicious circumstances and intuition at this point.”

“Well, are you going to investigate?”

“If it were important, Dick would tell me,” Barbara assured herself. “But he has kept things from me before.”

“If you’re talking about the Robin thing, I’d like to remind you that you found out before I did. And I’d been working with him longer,” said Artemis dryly.

“I don’t want to be making something out of nothing. I have a theory about what he might be hiding, but it’s completely wild. I feel stupid thinking about it.”

“Well, it would take a lot to make Barbara Gordon actually stupid. I think you have a right to just make sure. Maybe wait it out for a bit and see if he tries to hide things again, so you don’t feel like you’re making a big deal out of nothing.”

As it turned out, she wouldn’t have to wait that long at all.

 ________________________________________________________

* * *

 

“Another speedster? From the future?” Batgirl asked incredulously as they patrolled Gotham.

“It’s been a really weird day,” Nightwing concluded.

“And you say he knew your names?”

“Like I said, really weird day,” he repeated as they hopped a gap between buildings. “But Robin and I had a little chat with him and I think he understands the importance of keeping our secret identities.”

“That’s good, I guess. So, do you really believe he’s from the future?”

They paused, surveying Crime Alley below them.

“I like to think we’ve seen weirder things than time travel. And Wally and Barry are both more of scientists than I am and they seem to think it’s plausible.”

“And you said his time machine broke before he could go back?” Batgirl said skeptically.

“We’re keeping it at the Cave for further investigation. I’m not pretending to be an expert in time machines, but I can’t believe it survived the first trip at all.”

There was some movement below that caught their attention.

“Looks like a deal,” Nightwing muttered.

“I’ll take care of it,” Batgirl offered, leaping off then spreading her cape. After discouraging the two gentlemen from dealing in abusive substances, she returned to the rooftop they had been perched on before to find her partner missing.

Batgirl touched the comm. link in her mask. “Nightwing? Where are you? Did you see something else?”

There was a slight pause and then his voice filled her ear.

“Sorry, BG, something came up that I have to deal with.”

“Do you need help? Send me your coordinates.”

“Negative. Finish patrol without me.”

Batgirl paused, frowning.

“Are you coming over later?” he asked. She couldn’t tell over the radio if he sounded hopeful or not.

“No, I have an early class tomorrow so I’m staying in Gotham.”

“Okay. Be careful. Love you, Babe.”

“Yeah, you too,” Batgirl replied as the transmission ended, completely flummoxed by the whole encounter.

_________________________________________________________ 

* * *

 

“He did it to me twice last week,” Batgirl complained.

“BG, as much as I’d love to talk about your sex life with N-dubs, kinda in the middle of something,” said Artemis distractedly, kneeling at the edge of the roof and peering through binoculars.

“You haven’t been listening to me! Nightwing ditched me right in the middle of patrol twice last week, for no apparent reason. All he said was something came up that he had to deal with,” said Batgirl, pacing anxiously.

The archer had fulfilled her promise to come to Gotham for the weekend to help out with patrol. But Barbara was too distracted to really appreciate the gesture.

“Relax, Batgirl. I’m sure it’s not important.”          

“If it weren’t important, he wouldn’t be trying to keep it from me.”

“Okay, then it’s important but you don’t need to know to do your job.”

“No, you don’t get it. We’ve always been a team, partners, equals. I mean, yes, he is the team leader, but out here, in Gotham, especially right now, I’m THE Bat. At first, he was wearing the Batsuit out a couple times a week but lately, I’ve been handling the whole city myself,” Batgirl ranted.

“Yourself? I thought we were all on the same team, Batgirly,” said a sly voice behind them.

They turned to see Catwoman sauntering towards them.

“Who are you, Green Arrow Girl?” she asked, raising a delicate eyebrow at the blonde.

“Artemis. You must be Catwoman.”

They turned to Batgirl who still had her arms crossed and looked annoyed.

“You’ll have to excuse Batgirl’s attitude. She’s having boy trouble,” said Artemis, rolling her eyes.

“I see. What seems to be the problem?” Catwoman asked loftily.

“Nightwing is hiding something from me,” Batgirl said.

“Is he still sleeping with you? Regularly?”

Her eyes widened at the other woman’s boldness. “I, yes, we spend the night together several times a week,” she defended.

“Having sex?” Artemis prompted.

Her face was very red now. “Yes,” she said in a reluctantly prideful voice.

“Then he’s not cheating on you, don’t worry,” Catwoman concluded. She and Artemis turned back to the edge of the rooftop.

“I know he’s not cheating! I think he’s hiding something else!” Batgirl insisted.

“BG, listen, maybe he knows how hard you’re working to keep Gotham surviving and whatever it is, he doesn’t want to involve you. If it’s even anything at all,” Artemis reasoned.

“I thought you were on my side!”

“Can we finish this daytime drama later? I’d like to get this little mission of yours over with tonight,” Catwoman interrupted, hands on her hips.

“Fine,” Batgirl grumbled, consulting her small computer screen. “Okay, I’ve been following these rumors all week and they all lead to this being Two-Face’s safe house. Looks pretty heavily guarded. You two ready to move in? Catwoman, scratching is okay but try to keep the serious maiming to a minimum.”

Busting up some goons and helping arrest a big name criminal did wonders to improve Barbara’s mood. Catwoman took off as soon as sirens could be heard. Artemis and Batgirl only stayed around to direct the GCPD to all the thugs they had secured.

“God, I so missed this,” said Artemis, high-fiving her as they landed on a roof several buildings away. “Don’t tell Wally,” she added quickly.

“It’s our secret,” Batgirl laughed. “I’m glad you came this weekend.”

“Me too … Is that Conner?” she blurted out, peering over Batgirl’s shoulder with a confused look on her face.

“Huh?” Batgirl whirled around, squinting at the figure in the motorcycle jacket who had just exited a very upscale looking apartment building. “Oh my God. That’s Bette’s apartment building,” she said in a hushed voice.

“What? Bette and Conner? How do they even know each other?”

“That’s my doing. I got tired of him looking so sad and angry because he was stuck at the Cave with M’gann,” said Batgirl with a shrug. “I didn’t realize they were still seeing each other.”

“He’s coming this way.” Artemis leaned over the edge of the roof, watching Superboy trudge down the sidewalk. “Psst! Conner! Up here!”

Conner stopped, looking around carefully before finally looking up at the two girls enthusiastically waving at him from the roof of the building. He hesitated then carefully ducked into the alleyway. A series of powerful, but quiet jumps later and he had joined them.

“Hey, Artemis, Batgirl,” he said, smiling. “What are you doing here?” he asked the archer.

“Just catching up with an old friend,” said Artemis, smirking. “What are you doing here, Conner?”

“Yeah, say, isn’t that Bette Kane’s apartment building just up the street?” Batgirl added with a matching smirk.

Superboy didn’t say anything but a faint tint of pink appeared across his cheeks as he avoided their gazes.

“Way to go, Conner!” said Artemis, giving him a friendly punch to the shoulder.

He cleared his throat. “Bette is … um …”

“We know, Bette has a high sex drive. We went to school with her. She was always boy crazy,” Artemis continued.

“I was going to say that she’s very forward.”

Batgirl leaned forward, ignoring the confused look on his face, and inhaled deeply. “Chanel Number five,” she reported, glancing at the archer.

“Bette is a very classy lady,” Artemis agreed.

“She called me!” It was some sort of attempt at shifting attention but it just didn’t work.

“You dog!” Artemis said.

“You’ve been hanging out with Wally too much,” Batgirl added with an eye roll.

“Don’t you two have villains to catch or something?” Conner asked, folding his arms.

The two girls shrugged. “We just caught one a little bit ago. Want to join us?”

“And be interrogated more, not tonight. I should be getting home anyway.” He edged around them towards the other side of the building as he spoke.

They parted ways and the two female heroes continued through the city, pausing occasionally to help someone on the street below.

“You girls are getting awful close to my territory,” a delicate voice warned them from the shadows.

“You left before we could thank you properly,” said Batgirl, turning around to squint at the curvy, leather clad figure. “Having an extra person, especially someone who knows what they’re doing, really makes all the difference. So, thanks.”

Catwoman stepped out of the shadows, regarding them with an unreadable expression.

“I suppose you’re alright, Batgirl,” she said. Her tone was cool, feline, but there was a detectable note of warmth. “If any of those bird boys give you more trouble, just let me know, Kitten.”

“Hate to interrupt this bonding moment, but there’s an apartment complex fire just up a few blocks. I think we’re closer than the fire department,” said Artemis, waving her handheld that was connected to the emergency dispatch.

“Care for another team up?” said Batgirl with a smile.

“Let’s go save some innocents,” said Catwoman sarcastically.

The three women managed to get everyone out of the building by the time the fire department arrived to put out the inferno. They parted once again for the night, after a few more allusive comments from their feline companion.

“You should warn Dick,” said Artemis as they made their way through the other side of town.

“What?”

“I think Catwoman just has a thing for anyone who wears the bat symbol. She was so hitting on you!”

“What the hell are you talking about? And I think it’s raining.”

“If Batman doesn’t come back, you’re going to end up being the one pinned to jewelry store rooftops while telling Robin to go collect evidence. I would be flattered, she’s a very attractive woman,” Artemis teased as they stopped in an alleyway. Big raindrops were definitely making their way down from the sky.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Catwoman has always been like that around me. She dresses in a leather catsuit! Of course she’s a sensual, attractive person,” said Barbara, rolling her eyes. She held up her cape for the other girl to stand under as protection from the heavy rain shower. “I think my apartment is closer than the zeta tube. Want to just call it a night and stay over?” she offered.

“I forgot how much it rains here. Sure, just remind me to call Wally and warn him I’m not coming home tonight,” the blonde agreed as they hurried down the street, dashing under overhangs and awnings to avoid the buckets of water.

They made it to Barbara’s bedroom window, soaking and shivering as they climbed inside.

“Barbara, is that you?” her father called from the living room.

“Yeah, Dad, Artemis is here too. She’s going to stay tonight,” said Barbara, poking her head out the doorway. Behind her, Artemis gingerly removed her bow and quiver, trying not to get water all over the place.

“I’ll put some hot chocolate on the stove for you girls,” said Jim, peering around the hallway at her before turning into the kitchen.

“Thanks, Dad!” She shut her door so they could change.

“I forget you still live at home,” Artemis commented, pulling on the sweats Barb had tossed at her.

Barbara glanced at the neatly made bed, the gaps in her closet where some articles of clothing had migrated to Bludhaven. “Technically, I suppose. I spend a lot of nights at Dick’s place now.”

There was a roaring fire in the cozy living room and two large cups of cocoa waiting for them when they finally curled up with blankets on the couch.

“Ladies, you remember the rules. No cranks calls, no bras in the freezer, no sneaking in any boys, stay out of the liquor cabinet, and try to keep the noise down,” said Jim, patting his daughter on the head affectionately.

“Dad, we’re twenty.”

“Not too old for a slumber party, obviously,” he teased them. “Goodnight Barbara, Artemis.”

They waited until they heard the bedroom door shut before Barbara quietly climbed off the couch and padded to the cupboard he had just specifically told her to stay out of, and grabbed a bottle of whisky. “Up to some cocoa enhancement?” she asked, smirking and holding it up.

“You speak my language,” said Artemis, holding out her mug for a splash. “If we wanted to make this a legit slumber party, we should have had Bette over too.”

She replaced the bottle and resumed her seat. “We should at least call her and congratulate her on her night,” said Barb with a smirk.

“I just really hope Conner got some,” said Artemis sincerely, sipping her cocoa. “I couldn’t believe it when he and M’gann split up last year.”

“They had other issues that neither of them wanted to talk about. They still care about each other, it’s just complicated. I tried to get her to talk but she said she was fine. Next thing we know, her and Lagoon Boy are sucking face all over the Cave,” Barbara finished with a sigh. “I can imagine it’s difficult living there.”

Their conversation got sillier as the night wore on and they finished the spiked hot chocolate. They spent several minutes laughing on the phone with Wally as the poor kid tried to figure out what they were trying to tell him.

“Wally, I stole your girlfriend for the night!” Barbara managed to say.

“Barb, you know you’re always welcome over here,” said Wally in a smooth voice.

“Feeling left out?”

“Maybe a little. What are you wearing?”

“You know, Wally, you’re welcome here too. Trust me when I say Dick loves his redheads,” Barbara quipped. Artemis almost fell off the couch. Wally spluttered, unable to think of a quick response.

“We … we’re bros … can you just put Artemis back on the phone?” he whined.

Reluctantly, she handed the phone to a still chortling Artemis. “Hey, babe, yeah I’m staying the night with Barb. I’ll be home tomorrow. Love you too.”

Barbara watched Artemis hang up the phone with a somewhat dopey affectionate look on the archer’s face. “Please tell me I can at least babysit the little ginger-speedster-archer babies,” she teased.

“They’ll be best friends with your ginger-acrobat-gymnast babies,” Artemis retorted maturely.

“I think that’s enough discussion about babies.”

“Oh wait, I have pictures of my niece,” Artemis insisted, going for her phone again. 


	5. Part Five

The atmosphere of the room was heavy as they mourned their fallen friend. Someone asked where Nightwing went and no one envied him when another answered that he’d gone to tell Wally what happened.

Barbara could hardly stand to be there any longer and quietly slipped out, unnoticed except by Tim who followed her to the zeta room.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“I just have to go, Tim,” she said evasively, punching in coordinates for Gotham.

“But, Babs …”

“Not now, Tim,” she said shortly, stepping into the zeta beam as it announced her name and whisked her away.

She walked along the dark streets until she ended up at a familiar building and then a familiar apartment door. It took far too much energy to reach out and ring the doorbell.

“Barbara, what are you doing here?” said a sleepy looking, nightgown-clad Bette Kane. The girl blinked and finally seemed to get a better look at her. “What’s wrong?” she asked, concerned. She stepped back to let the redhead inside.

“Barb, what happened? Did Dick do something?” she asked, guiding her to the sofa.

“No, it’s not about him,” she said heavily, closing her eyes. The lump in her throat she had been trying to suppress had suddenly grown. Her eyes filled with tears again. “We lost Artemis,” she choked out.

“Artemis? Artemis Crock …? She was on your team too,” said Bette softly, instantly catching on. She sat next to her and put an arm around her as Barbara continued crying.

“Oh, god, we lost Artemis! She’s gone!”

“Oh, sweetie,” she crooned softly, hugging her, rocking her gently.

It took several minutes for Barbara to get control of her sobbing. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you, I wasn’t really thinking,” she hiccoughed.

“No, it’s okay. Sweetie, where’s Dick? He shouldn’t have let you walk around like this,” Bette said, frowning slightly.

“He’s telling Wally what happened,” Barbara said, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know where else to go.”

“It’s alright. Would you like a cup of tea?” she offered gently.

“Actually, I was hoping you had something a little stronger.”

“You definitely came to the right place. You just stay there. I’ll fix you something,” said Bette, walking over to her store of expensive bottles of alcohol. Most were for show at this point since she barely had time to entertain and drink lately.

For several hours, the two girls curled up on the couch, pouring through old Gotham Academy yearbooks, drinking vodka tonics that were slowly turning into more vodka than tonic while they took turns talking and crying. Eventually, Barbara fell asleep on the couch and Bette quietly unfolded herself from under the blanket they were sharing.

She stepped into the other room and pulled out her phone to make a call.

He answered wearily on the third ring.

“In case you were concerned, your girlfriend is asleep on my couch.”

“She left her phone here and Tim had no idea where she went. You said she’s sleeping?” He sounded so worried that she decided to let him off the hook for leaving Barbara alone.

“Yeah. Part of it is probably exhaustion and grief but the other part is definitely the fifth of vodka we managed to plow through,” said Bette with a sigh. “Dick, what happened?”

“We lost a teammate today,” he said. “Listen, I’ll come get Barbara. I can be there in thirty minutes or so. Thanks for taking care of her.”

“It’s fine if she stays here. But she probably would feel better waking up somewhere more familiar,” said Bette, biting her lip.

“I’m getting in the car now.”

“Hurry up.”

He arrived at her door about twenty five minutes later, looking exhausted, but his eyes were dry.

“Hey Bette,” he said quietly as she hugged him.

“I’m sorry about Artemis,” she whispered. He said nothing but nodded tightly.

They quietly stepped over to the couch where Barbara slept, completely gone to the world. He knelt down, brushing back her hair and studying her face. Bruce’s ominous warnings about Barbara finding out the truth played through his mind, making him feel sick. She would hate him for the pain he had just put her through. Gently, he picked her up; had she always been this small and light in his arms?

“Thanks,” he muttered to Bette, carefully shifting the slumbering redhead in his arms.

 _______________________________________________________

* * *

 

Barbara awoke with a pounding headache, which discouraged her from opening her eyes right away. When she finally managed to squint at her surroundings, she realized she had somehow ended up in Dick’s bed. Her brain was fuzzy. She recalled going to Bette’s flat but had absolutely no idea how she ended up here.

Slowly, she tried to sit up, noting that she was mostly clothed except for her jeans and jacket. There was a bottle of aspirin on the nightstand which she gladly took two of and gulped down the glass of water sitting next to it. The smell of toast tickled her nose annoyingly and made her stomach turn a little.

“You’re awake,” Dick observed, entering the bedroom with a plate of toast in his hand and coming to sit next her. “Breakfast?”

She took the plate from him and examined the bread in front of her. “It’s burnt,” she said, wrinkling her nose slightly. Dick was no gourmet cook, but surely Alfred had taught him how to not burn toast.

“Burnt toast is the best thing for hangovers, according to Wally,” said Dick.

Still not completely convinced, Barbara gingerly picked up the first piece and took a bite, finding it wasn’t too terrible with butter. Slowly, she made her way through the first piece as fragments of the previous day came back to her.

“I thought maybe he was only pretending, like you had him spying on the Light for you,” she said, eyes fixed on the ceiling. “But he really is a traitor, isn’t he. He killed Artemis.”

She missed the slight look of panic that momentarily crossed his face at her words. “Yeah, Babs, I’m sorry,” he said quietly.

“I’m not that hungry,” she muttered, pushing the plate back towards him. She lay back down and curled up on her side. “Do you mind if I stay a little longer?”

“Of course not. I have to go to Gotham today though. Will you be okay alone?”

Glancing over her shoulder, it was then that she noticed he was indeed dressed in his business clothes. That was all well then. Barbara wasn’t really sure she even wanted him there hovering over her anyway; she definitely didn’t want to go home and have her father try to interrogate her either.

“Yeah. Don’t worry, I won’t drink myself into a stupor again,” she answered with a slight snort.

He didn’t say anything for a few minutes then finally got up and left.

Barbara hardly got up all day. Several people texted throughout the day; she gave vague answers in reply, only assuring her friends that she was fine. Bette helpfully informed her that it was her who had called Dick the night before after she had passed out. The people who called ended up going to voicemail. She didn’t quite have the energy to have the same conversation on the phone every time someone called. Dick called so many times she finally sent him text saying  _I’m fine. Stop calling and do your work._

At one point, she stared at her phone, finger hovering over the button to call Wally. But what could she say to him? I’m sorry? I miss her too? Nothing seemed adequate.

“Barbara, wake up, sweetheart, I brought home dinner,” Dick said, gently waking her that evening. It was already dark out; she couldn’t believe she had slept so long. She felt so warm and sleepy, curled up in blankets with her head on his pillow. But her stomach had finally settled and was loudly letting her know how hungry she was. Reluctantly, she followed him out into the living room where he was unpacking cartons of Thai food.

They ate Pad Thai and watched the evening news, which didn’t make her feel a lot better.

“In Entertainment News, eccentric billionaire Bruce Wayne has been on vacation for almost seven weeks now, leaving responsibility of running Wayne Enterprises to his nineteen year old adopted son, Richard Grayson. Insiders at WE tell us that all is not well with upstairs management and rumors are flying that this so called retreat is nothing more than a clever ruse. While vacation photos have been released to various media outlets, we have it on good authority that they may be faked. No one has reported Wayne missing yet, although no one has commented on when he is expected to return. Police do not yet suspect foul play –“

“I hate Vicki Vale,” Dick grumbled.

“We thought something like this might happen if they’re away for too long,” Barbara pointed out fairly.

“No, she’s had it out for Bruce and I ever since he dumped her.”

“He should have known better than to date a gossip journalist,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“He thought it would help the reputation. That one really backfired on him though. Now she’s always investigating us.”

He turned the channel. G. Gordon Godfrey appeared on the screen, which really wasn’t a much better choice, speaking about the Ferris Satellite explosion. Before he had been criticizing its’ purpose; now he was using it to criticize the Justice League for not preventing the disaster.

The knuckles of the hand holding her fork had turned white as she made a shaking fist. How dare he. He had no idea what they had sacrificed that day to try to protect that satellite. Her eyes filled with angry tears again. Didn’t anyone realize one of her best friends had died? How could the world continue turning?

Taking a deep breath, she set the leftovers of her dinner on the table and stood up. “I’m taking shower,” she muttered, dashing into the other room before he could try to comfort her.

She almost thought maybe he would try to join her but the unlocked door remained closed. When she finally stepped out of the bathroom, feeling a lot calmer, she found him carefully hanging his suit jacket in the closet. In just a towel, she leaned against the doorway, watching him undress a little more. She exhaled through her teeth when he pulled off his shirt.

Barbara stepped towards him and slipped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his shoulder. His arms went around her, hugging her close, fingers running through her damp hair.

There wasn’t anything to say really. She reminded herself that she wasn’t the only one who had lost a close friend here. Had he cried at all? Maybe last night he had taken the opportunity to shed his tears when she wouldn’t see them, perhaps even while comforting Wally (she didn’t even want to think about the pain the speedster was probably going through). Or maybe he was just really that good at being completely stoic, at holding in all that emotion. He had been training with Batman for longer than she had after all.

Her grip tightened around him and she pressed her lips to his collar bone. His skin was so alive and warm and his arms so comforting around her. She kissed him there again, then slowly kissed a trail up his neck until he angled his head and met her lips. It was slow and hesitant; she found herself craving more.

“Barbara …” he said quietly, pulling away from her mouth.

“I need you,” she breathed, her eyes still closed. “Please.” She let go of him and let the towel drop to the floor.

He swallowed, almost nervously. “Are you sure?”

Her hands ran up his chest and linked around his neck, pulling him back to her lips in response. “Yes, I need this,” she said, reaching down to undo his belt.  

She hardly even realized it was happening but now she was lying on her back while he pulled away to finish removing his clothes, then closed the distance between them again. Almost every part of their bodies was touching and she relished in the weight of his body on hers, grasping at the warm skin and flexing muscles. He was kissing her sweetly; she was greedily losing herself in his embrace. When he slowly slid inside her she cried out in surprise and he went still until she prompted him to continue with a movement of her hips.

“I love you,” he was murmuring over and over again, kissing her all over, swaying their bodies together gently.

Her breath hitched as he hit a particularly sensitive spot and her eyes prickled.

“Dick, please, don’t leave me,” she whispered, squeezing her eyelids shut, hoping he wouldn’t see her tears. His rhythm was speeding up and the coil of tension was winding inside of her abdomen.

“Never,” he promised. It was a stupid promise to make but she just needed to hear it, needed him to know how tired she was of losing.

She came hard with another loud cry, shaking and shuddering, still wrapped around him. He held her as she shook, sweetly stroking her through her climax. Her eyes were still red-rimmed and watery, two tears trailing from the corners. He kissed at the salty tracks then met her lips.

“Again. Please, I need more,” she begged him. He was still so hard and full inside of her; it hurt so good. She wanted more blissful oblivion.

“Anything, Babs.”

Still clutching him tightly, she rolled them over. He fell back against the pillows with a soft grunt as she straddled him, still connected. His hands roamed her body then pulled her closer again, their mouths once more fusing. As he held her tight, she began to realize she was not the only one tasting comfort at each other’s lips.

She drew away and he followed, sitting up as she began moving on his lap. His mouth latched onto her neck, sucking at gap at her collar bone and then moving lower. Her head fell back and she let out a moan at his lips on her breast and his hand tangled in her hair. She continued to rock her hips, gasping when he reciprocated her thrusts, nails digging into his skin.

She was so close; her eyes met his, mirroring the same intense need. His hands went to her hips, pushing and pulling, increasing the pace so they could finish together. She screamed his name when she peaked and he quickly followed. As the rush of pleasure flowed through her body, she collapsed against him as they lay back again, still entangled.

“Stay awake with me longer?”

He obliged her again and again until they were both panting from the exertion and fell asleep in each other’s arms.  

Barbara rose early the next morning, silently pulling away from him. He barely even stirred as she climbed out of bed, still completely worn out. She left before he woke up, leaving a note explaining that she wanted to return to Gotham before attending Raquel’s bridal shower that afternoon. She needed to practice her brave face before putting it on for the rest of the girls on the team. 


	6. Part Six

Things seemed to go from bad to worse in the next few days. First Mount Justice was destroyed and their teammates were taken. The rescue mission was risky but at least had gained them information about the Light’s partner.

Barbara could tell that Dick was hesitant about letting her and Tim allow themselves to be captured but she convinced him they were really the best for the job. So she had once again gotten the opportunity to witness the inside of one of those metal containment pods. At least she was awake and had backup, not to mention covertly packing her utility belt under her jacket.

And then the mysterious Tigress had appeared.

Later, Barb managed to convince herself that her mental reaction was probably just the bargaining stage of grief. Sometimes they happened out of order; she was sure she had read that somewhere.

But despite the fact the woman looked nothing like her, this Tigress lady sure moved and almost sounded like Artemis.

Nightwing was off his game too. She ended up having to take charge when he froze, ordering him to prepare the bioship to take off as soon as they all got inside. When she tried to confront him about it later, he shrugged her off like he had no idea what she was talking about.

But then the Reach played their hand before the League was even dealt in and soon there were signs all over town at almost every grocery store, claiming that the Reach drink could be bought there. Finally, Miss Martian was inexplicably kidnapped by Tigress. It made no sense why and Nightwing seemed to have no answers to give.

It was almost a relief to take a break from being heroes when they had to attend a Wayne Foundation charity benefit the next weekend. Normally, Dick tended to skip these when the world was in peril. But Bruce was not here and the gala was for Leslie Thompkins’ clinic, the charity program Bruce favored the most.

“Thank you all for coming. I’m sorry my father couldn’t be here but I know he wouldn’t want his absence to prevent you all from donating.” Dick was in top form, cheerful fake smile on his face as he spoke to the crowd of Gotham’s elite. Barbara and Tim stood off to the side of the room, close to the stage and one of the exits.

Dick had just finished making his speech and hopped off the stage, making his way to her side once more. Before he could even open his mouth to say something to them, a sly voice made them jump and turn around.

“Mr. Grayson, I was wondering if I could get a quote,” said Vickie Vale.

“I just finished making a speech, so I think that should do,” he answered stiffly.

“Perhaps you could tell me more about Bruce Wayne’s whereabouts? It’s been over two months and no one has seen him since he took this extended vacation for his health,” the reporter continued.

“As I’ve repeated over and over, my father is taking some time off, getting away from the city on a personal, private retreat. He has sent photos, which I have passed along to the media. And that is all I have to say on the matter,” said Dick.

“What about the allegations about these so called photos? How would you like to address those who seem to think you may be using your father’s money to bribe officials from investigating his disappearance?” she shot back.

Barbara could feel the frustration radiating off of him.

“And you, Ms. Gordon, do you have anything to add? Is your father taking bribes from your boyfriend?”

She subtly held out her arm to stop Dick or Tim from pushing past her after that comment and smiled sweetly at the woman.

“Ms. Vale, why don’t we take a walk? I would absolutely love to answer all of your questions. Shall we find somewhere quieter?” As she spoke, Barbara grabbed Vickie’s elbow in a tight grip that the other woman gasped at alarmingly and began pulling her towards the door of the ballroom and out into the hallway.

“This is assault you know. I have rights. Freedom of the press,” Vickie protested as the angry redhead pulled her down the hall and around a corner before stopping.

“Listen to me. I will not tolerate any more of you abusing your press privilege to bring down good people. My father, Commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department, would never ever take bribes from someone. He’s the most honest cop in this whole goddamned city and you better remember that the next time you try to throw dirt at him.

“And leave my boyfriend alone. You don’t know our personal lives. Stop with the stupid woman scorned, wannabe Lois Lane act. Bruce is away for personal reasons and left Richard with a ton of responsibility that you probably couldn’t even begin to imagine. He is doing the best he can and does not need completely baseless allegations thrown his way.

“I suggest that you quit dragging the people I love through the mud or I swear, you will not like the consequences. I will do anything to protect the people I love, Ms. Vale.”

Vickie Vale was speechless, something Barbara had not thought was possible.

“Now, if you would please leave before I call security …”

Miraculously, she regained her voice. “Was that a threat, Miss Gordon?”

“Yes, it was. Shall I repeat it in smaller words? Stay away from my father and my boyfriend or I will bring you down. I am much more clever, well-connected, and loyal than you could ever hope to be. I do have the ability to make your life miserable in every completely legal way.” She paused then added slowly, “Maybe instead of wasting your time on petty gossip, you could use your investigative skills to report on some real news, like the Reach invading the Earth.”

“You think the Reach are trying to invade the Earth? Been watching a few too many science fiction movies?”

“Ms. Vale, please try to use your brain. Now leave before I have someone escort you out,” Barbara ordered, pointing down the hallway towards a glowing exit sign.

Vickie looked at her strangely, like she didn’t quite know what to think, but slowly backed away from her, turned, and walked off.

Barbara waited until she heard the door close before saying softly, “You can come out now.”

Dick appeared around the corner, a slightly awed look on his tired face. “That was amazing.”

She sighed. “I probably just made it worse but at least she can throw some dirt my way now too instead of just at you.”

“I dunno, I think you really distracted her with the Reach comment.” He walked up behind her and slid his arms around her waist. “Thank you for defending me though.”

“She just made me mad.”

He kissed her neck. “That also kind of turned me on,” he said in her ear, sending a shiver down her spine.

“We should get back to the party,” she said, making no attempt to move.

“Let’s make a stop first on the way,” he growled.

Giggling slightly, she allowed him to drag her around a few hallways, looking for a good spot to make their detour on the way back to the ballroom. The fifth or so door they tried was unlocked. It looked like it could have been someone’s office at one point; not someone important since it was a small room and window was tiny. Now it looked more like storage room with two empty desks pushed in one corner, a coat rack, and a few boxes on the floor.

They made out against the door for a few minutes. Dick turned the lock on the doorknob. Barbara reached up and pushed the black suit jacket off his shoulders, letting it fall on the plush carpet floor.

“Mmm, I want you to take me on that desk over there,” she whispered in his ear. There was something about winning a battle that made her really confident and really horny, even if it was just a battle of wits with an irritating reporter.

“Oh yeah,” he agreed with a grin and guided her with his hands on her hips, still kissing her. He helped her perch on the edge of the table, getting a grope in as he lifted her. The slit in her dress went up to her mid-thigh, allowing enough room for him to stand in front of her. “Know what I love about you, Babs?” he murmured, kissing her neck.

She moaned softly in response. “Might be a shorter list if you say what you don’t,” she said a little breathlessly.

He chuckled against her skin. “Besides the fact that you’re smoking hot, you’re always there for me. I don’t know where I’d be without you, especially now.” He was looking at her so seriously now and it just made her melt with pure affection.

“You charmer,” she said, smiling. “I love you and I’ll always be here for you, Dick.” She kissed him deeply. “Now, enough sweet talk. Are you going to fuck me or not?” Her voice got so low and sultry and her eyes flashed with heat.

“I love it when you talk dirty,” he growled, going for her neck again. His hands couldn’t seem to move fast enough along her body, feeling up her legs and sliding the silky material of her dress aside. He paused when his hand trailed up to her hip.

“Fuck, Babs, are you not wearing …”

“Kept getting a line,” she said casually, watching him struggle for control for a moment.

“Fuck, woman,” he muttered into her shoulder. He was fairly certain he had caught himself staring at her ass more than once already tonight. How had he not noticed? She giggled in reply, pulling at his belt now. “Amused?” he asked, his hand continuing its journey. She gasped when his fingers made contact with her heat and began teasing.

“Mm, Dick, oh yes …” Her hands paused as she moaned. “Dick, we don’t have time for – oh, god, yes, that … we have to get back to … party …” His hand was doing such a marvelous job and she was so ready. She pulled open his pants, feeling him groan against her skin when she touched him.

He wasted no more time and soon the quick movement of his thrusts made the table beneath her shake and bump noisily against the wall. His fierce kisses helped swallow her shrieks of pleasure.

Fifteen or so minutes later, they stumbled back out of the closet they’d found, looking somewhat disheveled and trading sly glances.

“This way,” he said, taking her hand, lacing their fingers like he normally did. They strolled back down the hallways for several more minutes before her blissful high wore off and she sighed.

“I think we’re lost. All of these hallways look the same,” she complained. Old buildings in Gotham were just built really goofy.

“No, we can’t be lost in a building. Look, in there, that room opens to a balcony,” he said, pausing at an ajar door. The room itself was a dark conference room.

“Were you planning on swinging off it or something? I should warn you, I might have some trouble in these heels,” she said dryly as they crept into the room and over to the balcony doors.

“No, the ballroom has a balcony that stretches way past the actual room and kind of wraps around the building, I think,” he answered, jiggling the handle to the glass doors. “Locked,” he muttered, frowning.

“I got this,” she said, pulling a hairpin from her now messy hairdo and nudging him out of the way. In a few seconds, she had the lock picked and the door open.

“I knew there was a reason we kept you around.”

His suspicion was correct as they spotted lighted portions of the balcony ahead and could barely hear music over the windy spring night. One person was standing alone off to the side. With the moonlight, there was no mistaking that blonde hair and lovely, tall figure, sulking over a champagne flute.

“Hey Bette,” Barbara greeted.

“There you are, I’ve been looking all over,” she said with a dramatic sigh. She took a good look at them and rolled her eyes. “No wonder I couldn’t find either of you. I hope you didn’t walk inside there like that. Dick, you have lipstick all over your mouth. And Barbara … just come here, sweetie.”

Dick frowned slightly and dug in his pocket for a handkerchief. Whenever he had to dress fancy, Alfred insisted he take one, asserting it was something gentlemen carried. Bette took Barbara’s hand and pulled her into the light; she began attacking her with the small make up arsenal Bette had miraculously managed to fit in her clutch.

“What are you doing out here alone?” Barbara asked her.

Bette uncapped a tube of lipstick next. “Shush. Well, obviously I was sent here to prevent the two of you from embarrassing yourselves after an incredibly obvious quickie in the coat room,” she said sarcastically, applying the red hue to Barbara’s lips. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Dick tentatively wipe at his mouth, raising an eyebrow at the pink streaks of color on the white cloth.

The blonde continued speaking, now carefully blotting powder on Barb’s face. “Also, if one more elitist asshole asks me either about being dumped by Dick Grayson or my father’s incarceration, I might have to practice some of those moves you taught me,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Turn around, let me fix your hair.”

“Sorry, Bette,” Dick offered, putting away the handkerchief and staring out of the view of the city. The party was being held at a very old estate that had been turned into a country club; the Gotham skyline was lit up and visible not too far away.

“Shit happens,” said Bette carelessly, pinning up Barbara’s red curls. “Your hair is so pretty, Barb,” she added with a sigh.

“I should be out there, not stuck at this stupid party,” Dick grumbled, folding his arms.

“We’ll go out later,” Barbara reminded him patiently. “Right now, we need to be here for Leslie.”

“Dammit, B and the others should have just stayed. They went five years, what’s a few more months,” he muttered, frustrated. “He’d know what to do.”

“Dick …” Barbara took a slow step towards him, hand extended. Before she could try to comfort him, he shrugged away from her and turned, stalking off towards the dark end of the balcony. 

She traded unimpressed looks with Bette. “He’s stressed,” was all she could really say.

“Stress does seem to turn the best of men into whiney babies at time,” Bette said wisely. “While it makes us women just work harder.”

“You might be on to something there. Do me a favor, don’t drink the Reach stuff,” Barbara said.

“Oh I know. Conner told me already,” she added blushing slightly when Barb raised a curious eyebrow.

“I didn’t even realize you were still talking.”

“Yeah, but he seems pretty upset about whatever happened to his ex-girlfriend. Didn’t really give any straight answers but I didn’t want to pry. It’s okay though, I didn’t expect anything serious. At least my hero count is up to two,” the blonde said with a shrug.

“Always with the silver lining.”

“It is the end of the world, right? Someone has to look on the bright side. Anyway, his warning was just in time. My company was talking about buying stock in it. I had to exercise all of my executive power to put my foot down on that. I even specifically made sure it wasn’t going to be served at any Kane functions or in the cafeterias,” Bette said with a sigh.

“Yeah, Dick was furious when the event planner for this thing said they should serve it here too,” said Barbara with a sigh. “Now Wayne Enterprises has a policy against it. But it’s not going to be enough, I’m afraid.”

“The Justice League really has a problem with public relations and marketing,” Bette commented thoughtfully.

“They’ve never found themselves in a position where people didn’t like them. It’s always been, disaster strikes, heroes save the day, everyone loves the JL. Ever since the public found out about the Watchtower, they’ve lost confidence in us.”

“I don’t understand what they’re angry about. Did people really think that the Justice League operated completely just out of the Hall of Justice? It was a museum! I’ll have a think on your marketing problem. I have some connections. Maybe if enough companies put pressure on the Reach … I’m heading back in there. You should probably see if he’s done with his self-imposed time out,” said Bette, nodding towards the dark figure standing a ways down the dark balcony.

“Yeah, thanks. While you’re in there, would you mind checking on Tim? He hates these things too and I feel bad for ditching him for so long.”

“No problem. I’ll make him escort me around the room for bit,” said the blonde, squaring her shoulders and preparing to the reenter the party.

Barbara slowly wandered down the deck to her boyfriend, where he was doing a good impression of a brooding Batman.

“Dick?”

“It’s not fair.”

She wrapped her arms around him and he slowly returned the embrace. “I know, babe. It’s really not. But I am doing everything I can and you really need to stop snapping at me because you’re under stress,” she said firmly, rubbing his back soothingly.

“Sorry,” he muttered into her hair. “What if … what if we can’t …”

“We will. We have to.” She pulled away and looked up at him. “Are you ready to go inside and act civil?”

“Yes.” He leaned forward to try to kiss her but she quickly turned her head.

“Nuh uh, Bette just fixed my lipstick. Here,” she said, pointing to her cheek instead. He kissed there then placed a few more along her jaw and neck. “Mhmm, oh, okay, that’s enough, let’s go,” she said, pulling out of his arms and taking his hand, lacing their fingers together.

 _______________________________________________________

* * *

 

Barbara tried to check in periodically at the warehouse serving as their new base, if only to visit those staying there after the Cave was destroyed. Every time Barbara visited, she made a mental note to try to talk Nightwing into just forgetting the whole secret identity crap and letting them stay at Wayne manor. Alfred definitely needed the company, whether he admitted it or not. And Conner already knew the secret and could be trusted. If M’gann hadn’t been taken, she probably also would have preferred that option. They could still use the building as a base without the smell of socks.

And poor Garfield. Beast Boy was so young but had already lost so much. He had taken to sticking to Superboy’s side, obviously afraid of losing the other older team member he was closest to.

“How are you doing Gar?” she asked him gently. It had been almost a month since Tigress and Deathstroke had kidnapped Miss Martian, giving almost no reason why.

“Fine. I just miss my sister. Nightwing won’t even tell me the plans to rescue her!” he complained.

“I told you, you need to be patient,” said Conner, putting a hand on the kid’s shoulder. “We still don’t know where Manta is hiding. The ocean is a big place, you know.”

His shoulders visibly drooped. “Maybe if she hadn’t completely brain blasted Aqualad, they wouldn’t have taken her,” he surmised sadly.

Barbara frowned. “Wait, what did you say? What did she do to Aqualad?” Something was starting to illuminate in her mind.

“When you guys rescued us, she ran into Aqualad and completely tore his brain apart. He was practically a vegetable when she was done,” Gar reported.

It started to click into place. Of course she had known that M’gann had run into Kaldur. The tearing apart of his mind was new. And M’gann had been so off in the week or so before her capture, like she had discovered something huge and realized she’d made a huge mistake. Tigress, who moved and sounded a bit like Artemis, had appeared right after the death of their teammate. The encrypted files on Nightwing’s computer; she had never attempted to hack them. His disappearances. All of her previous suspicions that Kaldur wasn’t a traitor, that he was spying on his father.

Her intuition as a Bat.

_“Try to go easy on him …”_

_“Relax, Batgirl. I’m sure it’s not important.”_

_“If it weren’t important, he wouldn’t be trying to keep it from me.”_

_“Okay, then it’s important but you don’t need to know to do your job.”_

Her eyes rose and met Conner’s. Judging by the look her was giving her, he had obviously realized she was putting it all together. He nodded ever so slightly.

It was all the confirmation she needed.

“I have to go to Gotham,” said Barbara abruptly.

“What’s wrong?” Beast Boy asked, confused.

“Nothing, I just remembered I have to do something. Tell Robin where I went when he gets here,” she said, pulling on her cowl and hurrying out the door.

Artemis was alive. Kaldur was undercover.

It made so much sense. How could she have not seen it before? Obviously Conner knew; M’gann probably told him when she figured it out. Wally would have to know too. There was no way he would let Dick get away with getting his girlfriend killed for real. Batman knew, or at least had an inkling of what Dick was planning before he left.

She was the only one out of the loop. He had lied straight to her face, made her believe that her best friend was dead.

How stupid she must have looked, drinking all of Bette’s vodka and crying in Dick’s bed all day. Begging him to make love with her to take away the pain. All the while, he could have just told her not to worry, that her tears weren’t necessary. Hadn’t they both lost enough when Jason died? Why would he put her through all of this again? And what if the plan went wrong? Like, what if M’gann unknowingly mind-blasted Kaldur because she thought he was a murderer? Artemis and Kaldur were in danger. 


	7. Part Seven

“You lied.”

It was one of the few times she had seen him actually in the Batcave lately. Nightwing was in the costume vault, restocking his belt when Barbara finally confronted him. He stiffened at her accusation but did not turn around.

“I know Artemis is Tigress. And Kaldur isn’t a traitor. He’s your spy.”

“Not now, Barbara,” he said in a quiet voice.

“No! We are going to do this now! You are not going to just brush me off again!” She strode forward and grabbed his arm to wrench him around to face her. He easily muscled out of her grip but still remained facing her.

Barbara almost faltered at the look on his face. He was exhausted and angry and full of utter defeat. For a moment, she thought back to her promise to Bruce to go easy on him. But there was no way Bruce could have seen this far ahead and known their stupid plan included pretend killing her best friend. She let her fury fill her vision again.

“You lied to me!”

“No one else could know. As leader, I had to make difficult decisions. Not telling everyone the plan was one of those.” He spoke so plainly, like they were excuses he had been telling himself over and over again.

“This isn’t about everyone knowing your fucking plan! You lied to me! ME!”

“This hasn’t been easy, you know,” he snapped.

“All the times I told you I didn’t think Kaldur was really bad. All the times you just up and ditched me with no excuse. I tried so hard to be there for you but you won’t even let me help!”

“You don’t understand! I did what I had to do!”

“You let me think Artemis was dead! You watched me cry over her and you knew!”

He didn’t say anything to that, didn’t even look at her.

“You have no idea what you put me through!”

“Stop making this personal. I didn’t tell you because you didn’t need to know. Batgirl did not need to know. I can’t just tell you top secrets details of a covert mission just because you’re my girlfriend,” he said, pushing past her.

She gripped her hands into tight fists to keep from reaching for one of the many possible projectiles available in the vault. Instead, she grabbed him again, shoving him against the wall.

“You’re right, how foolish of me to think that being Dick Grayson’s girlfriend would grant me any honesty from Nightwing,” she said in a dangerously low voice.

“This is bigger than you and me! I’m trying to stop an alien invasion!”

“Fine! Go!” she shouted, shoving him towards the doorway of the vault. “Stop it without me! Get the hell out of this cave!”

“You can’t just kick me out of the cave,” he snapped at her.

“Watch me,” she snarled back. “Stay out of the Cave. Stay out of my city. Stay out of my life!”

Her eyes were prickling and she didn’t know how much longer she could trust herself not to cry in front of him. Shoving past him, she ran for her bike and sped out of the cave, hoping he would be gone when she returned.

He was.

 ________________________________________________________

* * *

 

“Robin! I could really use some back up here!”

Batgirl leaped, swinging around a pole and jamming her boots into Scarecrow. The villain was knocked back but not down. She hadn’t been completely prepared for this encounter to happen yet. The past week, she had almost driven herself to the point of absolute exhaustion, diving in to her work when the breakout occurred.

The villain cackled, going for his pockets for what she assumed was a fear gas capsule. Batgirl had thought ahead and inoculated herself before going out, but Scarecrow was always altering his formula. It was hard to anticipate how effective the serum would be. She carried an extra one in her belt in case it wasn’t enough.

Batgirl kicked, aiming for his hand, but failed to notice the capsule in his other hand already. How he had done the sleight of hand, she had no idea but only had seconds to drawn in a breath and hold it before he threw the pod. It exploded and she ducked, trying to avoid the cloud of fear gas, and attempting a leg sweep.

“Sorry, Bat brat, but you should have moved. This version can be absorbed through the skin. Holding your breath makes no difference,” said Scarecrow, barely containing his glee.

She attempted to crawl away, eventually giving in and taking a breath, coughing hoarsely. The antidote she had taken earlier helped to dull most of the tunnel vision and hallucinations but the world still felt distorted to her eyes as she pulled herself to her feet.

“Robin!”

“On my way, Batgirl!”

Scarecrow had pulled out a long, gleaming knife. The light reflected off the metal, almost distracting her until he lifted it high and swung. She dove for his arm before he could finish the arc, managing to get a hold of his wrist and trying to get him to drop the dagger. They tussled until the knife clattered to the ground and Batgirl was flung from the edge of the roof with a painful wrench of her arm.

She panicked, completely forgetting that she was trained for this sort of occurrence. What was a grappling hook anyway? Batgirl anxiously grabbed at the side of the brick building, letting out a scream as her right hand finally caught the edge of a fire escape around the fourth floor. Her arm was yanked out of the socket and she couldn’t help but wail again, forcing herself to maintain the grip no matter how painful. The ground looked so far away and fear was creeping up on her.

“Batgirl!” Suddenly Robin was right next to her, hanging from a rope and holding out a hand to her.

“Dick?” she whispered, eyes wide.  _Don’t let me die, please don’t let me fall …_

“Don’t worry, Babs. I got you,” he muttered, carefully putting an arm around her waist. “Let go of the railing. I promise, I won’t drop you.” Slowly, he lowered them to the ground.

She didn’t quite trust her knees when he finally let her go and leaned against the wall, hugging her dislocated arm close. Her teeth were gritted and eyes closed tight with pain but at least her panic had calmed somewhat.           

“Batgirl, are you alright?”

She opened her eyes to find Robin staring at her anxiously. Tim, not Dick. Because Dick was not allowed in her city or in her life at the moment.

“My arm’s dislocated. Can you get to the extra fear toxin antidote in my belt? It’s the third pouch on my right,” she said, her voice shaky as she tried not to cry.

Robin quickly found the syringe and helped inject it in her good arm. “Want me to pop your arm back in its socket?”

“You know how?”

“Nightwing had to do it to me once and I’ve been watching Alfred,” he said with a shrug. “It’ll be easier to get you back anyway.”

“Sure,” she panted, managing to turn so her good shoulder was braced against the wall. She wadded up some her cape and stuffed it between her teeth as she felt him gently grasp her arm.

“Okay, ready? On the count of the three. One. Two –“

“Argh!” She cried out (along with several expletives) as her arm was unexpectedly reunited with her shoulder.

“Three,” Robin finished, smiling slightly.

“Forget how to count?” Batgirl growled at him.

“It works best when you aren’t tensed up and expecting it,” he explained with a shrug. “Come, on, lean on my shoulder. My bike is just around the corner of the building here.”

“Scarecrow’s getting away though,” she protested as he grasped around her waist again.

“Leave it, Batgirl. You’re a mess. We’ll get him tomorrow. Together,” Robin said firmly, leading her towards his motorcycle.

It was a miracle she made it home without passing out; it took sheer willpower to keep her good arm firmly around the Boy Wonder as he did eighty through the city and out on the highway until they roared into the secret entrance to the Batcave. Alfred was already waiting in the medical room and she realized Robin must have radioed ahead while she wasn’t paying attention. Fear toxin, adrenaline, and an imperfect antidote were still swimming around her blood stream, making her steps unsteady as Tim led her around.

Bleakly, she allowed them to remove her mask, cape, and top, carefully around her injured arm until she was left in her tights and sports bra. She sat back so Alfred could look at her shoulder.

“X-ray shows no fractures. Excellent relocation, Master Tim,” Alfred commented. “How are you feeling, Miss Barbara?”

“Crappy. Starting to feel sick, actually,” she said with a grimace.  

“How many antidote injections did you have this evening?”

“Two. New fear toxin can be absorbed through the skin,” she recalled. “Tim, you should wash off your gloves, Alfred …”

“I do believe its potency has worn off as I have been handling your costume and am not experiencing any symptoms. All the same, I will take care when cleaning both of your suits,” he assured her. She relaxed a little.

“My shoulder hurts still,” she confessed.

“I will wrap it and ice it. You should keep your arm in a sling for longer than a day. And I think ibuprofen will have to be enough. Something stronger may interact with any fear toxin left in your system.”

“You shouldn’t have gone after Scarecrow alone,” Tim lectured her while Alfred strapped a gel ice pack to her shoulder.

“I wasn’t going to. I was just observing,” she grumbled.

“Babs, I’m worried about you. You’ve been going non-stop all week. What did you and Dick fight about this time?”

Barbara glared at him. “It’s none of your business, Tim,” she snapped.

He wasn’t cowed. “He said you kicked him out and told him to stay out of Gotham.”

She winced when Alfred pulled on the wrappings around her shoulder. It felt slightly deliberate.

“Is this what you do when Bruce does something you think is stupid?” she muttered.

“Miss Barbara, you may be the only Bat in the city at the moment, but that does not mean I want you to become the Batman himself. I hope you will reconsider your words to Master Dick, despite whatever it was he did this time,” said Alfred shortly.

“You don’t understand,” she said softly, feeling her eyes water again.

“I think you’ll find we understand a lot more than you imagine.” Alfred fitted the cloth sling around her back, gently placing her arm in it.

“You figured out what he’s being so secretive about?” Tim guessed.

Barbara sighed. “It’s complicated. I really can’t tell you, Tim.” It would be the ultimate payback, telling everyone Nightwing’s brilliant plan, watching everyone else get angry at being forced to mourn Artemis.

“Perhaps, given your own strong emotions towards the mastermind of this secret plan, you have piled all of your anger on him without taking into account his co-conspirators as well,” said Alfred, now handing her two pills and a cup of water.

“You’re saying I should be mad at all of them?”

“No, I’m saying you should remember you aren’t the only person affected. Now, off to bed with you, Miss Gordon. I will telephone your father and assure him you are safe. Master Tim, escort the lady upstairs.”

Tim changed out of his costume then came back to help her off the exam table; she swallowed her pride and leaned on the fifteen year old.

“So what’s her name?” she asked wearily.

“Who?” His voice squeaked a little.

“The girl you’ve been hanging out with,” Barbara clarified.

Tim sighed. “Stephanie. She only knows me as Robin though. She was one of the kids we freed from the Reach last month,” he admitted.

“Good for you, Tim.”

They fell silent as the doorway to the study opened and they left the cave.

“Look, I know you can’t tell me but I have a good idea of what’s going on. And I’m sorry you’re mad at Dick. But we can’t afford to lose more people around us. Bruce is already gone. And I don’t like it when you two are fighting. It feels like the family is falling apart,” he said, guiding her up the stairs of the manor.

“I’m sorry you feel caught in the middle, Tim,” she said, tiredly but sincerely. “But you know, no matter what, both of us consider you our little brother,” she added affectionately.

The paused on the upper floor at the entrance to Dick’s bedroom and she sighed.

“Did you … did you want to sleep in there tonight?” Tim asked tentatively.

“No, my regular room is fine,” she said shortly, continuing on.

A few hours later, Barbara sat bolt upright in bed, gasping for breath and covered in cold sweat. The details of the nightmare were leaking from her mind but the feeling of terror was still present. She hated nights after facing Scarecrow. Even if you got the antidote in time, you still always ended up with bad dreams that night. She squeezed her eyes shut, rubbing with her free hand, trying to erase the images of all her friends and family dying. Of Dick, after she had failed to save him.

Half gasping, half sobbing, she climbed out of the bed and began pulling the icepack off her shoulder. Her hand was shaking as she tossed the roll of bandages and the now warm ice pack aside. And her shoulder was sore again.

Barbara padded over to the door after getting her breathing under control again. With the thought of some more pain pills in mind, she considered going down to the kitchen but doubted Alfred was up. Slowly, she wandered down the hallway until she stopped in front of Dick’s old bedroom.

It felt like a moment of weakness, but she opened the door and silently slipped inside. Of course he wasn’t there and probably hadn’t been for a while. The bed was neatly made and there was no dirty clothes on the floor, like was normal for his room.

She tiptoed over to the bed and pulled back the covers, crawling inside. Her face buried in the pillow, she inhaled deeply. There, faintly, he had been there, recently enough the pillow cases hadn’t been changed. His scent, so familiar, comforted her and made her miss him more. Maybe they were right, maybe she should forgive him. Soon.

She fell asleep clutching at his pillow and her dreams weren’t too bad the rest of the night. Barbara awoke much calmer, despite the stinging pain in her arm. The sling helped to hold it still through the night but she had taken off the wrappings last night.

For a moment, she took in the familiar comfort of Dick’s bed, missing one extra body next to her.

But then she thought of how cold he had been when she confronted him, how he wasn’t sorry about hurting her all for the plan. How apparently just being his girlfriend wasn’t enough to garner his complete trust, in all aspects of his life. Angry and in pain, she tore out of the bed and stormed out of the room, hoping the other house occupants hadn’t noticed her adjustment in sleeping arrangements sometime in the night.

 ________________________________________________________

* * *

 

“I told you to stay out of my city,” she growled. She had the voice down; while she sounded markedly more feminine, it was still the Bat making the threat to the shadow standing behind her. Terrifying and vengeful. The city was quickly learning that Batgirl was just as intolerant of crime as Batman.

“Batgirl,” Nightwing said, stepping forward.

“Leave, Nightwing,” she said harshly. Almost two weeks had passed since she had confronted him and she had dove into her work, as was her tendency when he hurt her. It was almost a subconscious movement, drawing bat-a-rangs and preparing to throw them.

“I need to talk to you.” Another step.

Batgirl whirled around, flinging the bat-a-rangs. Nightwing easily dodged them and they lodged in the wall behind him.

“I don’t want to fight. I want to talk!”

“I have nothing to say to you!” With a leap and a spin, Batgirl threw one of her infamous roundhouse kicks.

He stepped into the kick, blocking her knee and off-balancing her. For almost half a second, he’d thought he had her pinned but she easily broke his hold. They grappled and wrestled on the gravel roof for several more minutes until they froze. She had him pinned, straddling his hips and holding his wrists down by his head, leaning over him.

There was still the furious emotion in her eyes but he was struck with the realization that it was partially mixed with hungry lust. Her mouth was just inches away. As much as he wanted to pull free from her grip, he didn’t want her to move either.

Batgirl stared down at him, breathing heavily and feeling her insides twist. Those tight pants of his really didn’t conceal anything. He was aroused. She was aroused. She was angry that they were both so aroused.

“Fuck,” she muttered, closing her eyes for a moment and wishing he would pull free from her and make things easier. So then she could still stay angry at him. But dammit, she hadn’t gotten any in weeks now and no matter how upset she was, there was no denying how attractive he was.

Without warning, she kissed him hard. His hands slipped out of her grip and one came to rest on her hips, holding her there tightly as she grinded against him. His other hand held the back of her head in place, kissing back fiercely. Lips and tongues fought for dominance.

He flipped them over so she was lying back on her spread out cape, covering her body with his. Her leg hitched around his hip; she let out a moan when he rocked against her, providing the friction she craved. Pulling away from her mouth, he tugged off one his gloves. His hand found the gap between the top part of her costume and the leggings. She groaned and bit at his lower lip when his fingers found skin.

“Barbara,” he murmured against her lips as his fingers trailed lower, tugging back at her tights. She gasped as he stroked at her. In response, she loosened his belt and plunged her own hand in his pants, squeezing. He groaned and attacked her mouth again, tongue and teeth roughly meeting up with hers.

Somehow, her tights were pulled almost down to her knees to make enough room for him. She hissed sharply when he entered her. He moved quickly; it was hot and tight and they didn’t dare try to take off more clothes no matter how secluded they most likely were up there.

“Mmm, harder,” she commanded, gripping tightly at his shoulders and rocking her hips to meet his thrusts. “More.” He sped up, his breath heavy and loud in her ear.

Her teeth scraped at his jaw, nipping at his earlobe. He groaned when she pulled on his hair then reached lower and groped roughly at his ass.

“Babs, oh, fuck, you feel amazing,” he grunted as he dove into her over and over. He sucked harshly on her lip, one hand pawing at her breast through her costume.

The ground was so hard on her back but she didn’t care. Things had always been extraordinarily hot and heavy between them; being so fit and flexible made for an interesting, playful sex life. And being so in love made for a very sweet one. But this was so rough and raw, and so fucking hot she forgot for a moment to be infuriated with him.

“Oh, yes, uhn, fuck, just harder, now! Dick!”

His lips found hers again and they kissed deeply.

It was over a lot sooner than usual, furious urgency speeding up their finish. He lay back next to her, readjusting pants and belt, as she pulled her leggings back on.

“Babs, I still love you.” His quiet voice was so sincere and she could imagine the large blue eyes behind the mask, normally enough to make her melt.

“I’m still mad at you.” She closed her eyes again, keeping her voice level. _But I really needed that release._  Angry rooftop sex in their costumes had done enough to calm her fiery rage of wrath to a smolder.

“You can be mad. But please listen to me,” he pleaded.

“Fine. What do you have to say?”

“I’m sorry about hurting you. But I need your help. I need the whole the team on this. I’m sure you’ve seen the news …”

As he explained what they knew about War World, she sighed. Of course, it wasn’t a real apology. He was sorry she had been hurt by his actions but he wasn’t apologizing for lying to her.

“I’ll be there,” she interrupted him.

Nightwing got to his feet and offered a hand to pull her up. His hair was a disheveled mess from how many times she’d run her fingers through it.

“Thanks, BG. I can always count on you.” He lightly kissed her lips. “I promise, I’ll find a way to fix this.”

With that, Nightwing left.

 ________________________________________________________

* * *

 

She knew she had been captured, that they all had been taken by the Reach and were placed in stasis pods. Her subconscious was alert enough to understand what had happened even if she could not process any other stimuli. She was simply alone in her mind with her thoughts.

The mission had been a success until the end. It always seemed to go that way. Just when they thought they could catch a break, one of their team members had to betray them.

No, Barbara reminded herself, it was not Jaime’s fault. The Reach had fooled them all. At least now all of their trickery was in light. Maybe Nightwing’s foolish plan stood a chance of succeeding.

Nightwing. Was Dick even trying to rescue them? Rescue her? She wouldn’t blame him after how badly she had treated him the past few weeks. But she had a reason for her actions. She was angry because he didn’t trust her with the secret. Did he doubt her ability to keep their friends’ covers? Hadn’t she proved she was serious about the mission? Even if she had been captured, she would never give up the information. He had to know that.

But now she had been captured. None of them had been tortured for information, as far as she knew. Which actually, she now realized she did not know at all; perhaps she was next.

Suddenly, her face was violently acquainted with the floor.

Batgirl drew in a deep breath, as though she had not breathed in ages. Her mind started to clear and she slowly looked up, noticing her teammates were also just as free and startled. Wolf was already nudging at her, encouraging her to sit up.

Was that it? Were they really being rescued?

It was a blur. She recognized some of the kids they had rescued from the Reach ages ago, the ones who had been staying at Star Labs because they were exhibiting meta powers. When the door opened and Nightwing stood there, she felt a terrible longing to run to him, despite the fact that she was being supported by one of their rescuers. She could tell he was looking at her too.

And then the moment was over and they were getting out of there quick.

 ________________________________________________________

* * *

 

Nightwing stepped out of the monitor room on the Watchtower, finished with his meeting with Captain Atom, and saw Robin sitting in the hallway a ways down. He hadn’t realized the kid had waited for him.

“Hey, Timmy,” he said softly, standing in front of him.

Startled, he looked up at the older hero who offered a hand up.

“Hey, Dick,” he muttered, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. He hesitated then said, “Thanks for coming back for us.”

On impulse, Dick pulled him into a tight hug which was slowly returned. “Tim, you’re my little brother. I’ll always be there for you.” They stood there for a moment longer and Dick was painfully aware of how he had failed another little bird in the past and once more vowed never again.

“Come on, let’s get you home,” he finally said, releasing the younger boy.

“Are you coming back too?” Tim asked hopefully.

“I … I don’t think Babs still wants me around.”

“She’ll never be able to forgive you if you don’t ask.”

“I suppose you have point,” he muttered as they reached the zeta tube.

At the Batcave, Barbara was seated in front of the computer screen, watching the interview with Godfrey and the Reach Ambassador. She did not look over when both boys arrived but her posture tightened slightly. Tim quickly snuck out of sight after pointedly elbowing his older brother.

Dick walked over to the monitor, standing there for a moment. “Barbara,” he began quietly.

“Did you see this? It’s very interesting. I’m betting the Reach did not realize how obnoxious investigative reporters can be. Maybe they’ll think twice about trying to conquer a planet that already has the internet and a twenty four hour news cycle,” she said, not looking at him.

At least she was not yelling at him to get lost. “Babs,” he repeated.

“And Bette gave an interview the other day too. Most of it is business speak but there’s a large part about her company’s anti-Reach policy,” Barbara continued, now clicking to another screen, putting both videos on mute.

“Babs, I’m sorry.”

She paused then finally looked at him. “Take off the mask and say it again,” she instructed.

Dick reluctantly pulled off the domino mask. “I’m sorry.”

“For what? What are you sorry for?”

“I’m sorry for letting you believe Artemis was dead. I’m sorry I hurt you. I … I guess I’m sorry for a lot of things, Babs.”

She recalled thinking about how sometimes it was so hard loving him this much. She hated how needlessly vulnerable he’d made her feel. But the way he was looking at her, with such defeat and despondency, made her heart ache.

“Would you do it again? Keep something like that from me?”

“Babs … that’s not really a fair question … I know I probably should have included more of you guys …”

Barbara stood up and faced him. “Would you hurt me like that again? If you felt like you had to make me believe something so painful, for the sake of the mission, would you?”

He stared at her. “I don’t want to hurt you, Babs,” he insisted.

“Are we in this together or not? We’ve always been partners, best friends. What are we now?”

“All of that still, and more. You know I’ve always loved you.”

“Do you trust me?”

“With my life. Do you trust me?”

“Can I? This is what I’m asking. I need to know what is most important to you. It doesn’t have to be me but I just need to know,” she said, looking away. “Maybe we rushed into things.”

Dick placed a hand under her chin, lifting her head to look in her eyes. “When you and the team were taken, I could only think of getting you back. You. The thought of losing you, especially before I had the chance to make it up to you … Babs, I promise, I’ll never let anyone get away with hurting you, especially me.”

She put her hands on his chest. “Dick, you can’t possibly keep that promise …”

“I can try.” His hand cupped her cheek and he kissed her lips. “It’s always been you, Babs, and it always will be. I don’t even think I know how to love anyone else this much.”

“I love you too, Dick,” she said sincerely. Their lips met again in another long, slow kiss. “Just don’t ever do that to me again,” she added, before she could melt in his arms.

“Hm, I promise,” he murmured between kisses, “to not implement a covert operation that may help prevent an alien invasion, if it involves faking the death of one of our friends without informing you.”

“That should be easier to keep,” she said before pulling him back to her lips again. The conversation was lightening, the tension lifting. She had missed this so much, being in his arms and feeling loved. One hand was at her waist, pressing her closer, and one in her hair as the kiss deepened. “So what now, hero?” she asked breathlessly.

“Well I thought we could go upstairs and I could remind you just how much I love you and make up for these past weeks.”

“I think I mean in general. But in the meantime I think that is a decent idea,” she said, smirking slightly.

“Don’t worry, I have a plan.”

She reluctantly pulled away from his lips again. “Let me just turn all this off and we can head upstairs,” she said, moving back to the computer.

He moved away to put some of his own gear away, stopping at the wall full of bright crayon drawings. Robin’s number one fan, Nell Little, had made a habit of giving the Boy Wonder her latest drawings whenever he stopped by to say hello. Barbara had convinced Tim to display them in cave, especially once the drawings started branching out from simple doodles of just one bird.

“Some of these are new,” Dick commented. “Whoa, Babs, I think this is you.”

“Yeah, Tim was a little relieved when Nell stopped drawing him so much,” said Barbara, walking over to him.

“Is this one us?” He was pointing to a paper with two figures, one with shocking orange hair and the other bright blue on black, with a giant red heart.

“Tim’s a gossip. And Nell likes a good love story.”

“Isn’t she like, six?”

“Almost seven. But she’s not the only girl Boy Wonder has been visiting,” said Barbara with a smirk.

“Tim has a girlfriend?” Dick said excitedly. “Why didn’t he tell me? I’m his brother.”

“Are you going to make fun of him?”

“Probably. What’s her name?”

Barbara laughed and took his hand, pulling him towards the stairs. “Why don’t you just ask him. Tomorrow, though. I’d really like your full attention tonight.”

As they left the cave, she started to think that maybe things would work out.


End file.
